Richard Gupton and Hunter Carpenter from the Agricultural Retailers Association give their updates and insights on top policy issues for the ag retail industry.
From the ag retailers’ perspective, the announced tariffs and they are being implemented continue to create uncertainty.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty around when these tariffs will go in place, and at what rate fertilizers will be will be held. So we’re looking at an April 2 deadline for not only retaliatory tariffs on products between Canada and Mexico there were other tariffs that were put on products in and out of China,” Carpenter says. “There are a lot of concerns not just on the fertilizer side, but on the crop protection side as well. I think right now, what we’re dealing with is a 1 month reprieve from tariffs on potash in particular, and other fertilizer products coming out of Canada—ammonium sulfate, mind sulfur, and others. Some of those will be lowered hopefully to 10% if they use the USMCA preference. There’s still some uncertainty on exactly what will be tariffed and at what rates, and then we’ll kind of see where we go from there.”
This week also brought the announcement from EPA administrator Lee Zeldin that his team is revisiting the Waters of the U.S.(WOTUS) rule. Gupton says this is a welcome action since the industry is really looking for clarity in what the rule means.
“Hopefully, once and for all, this will provide the durability and certainty for the industry related to WOTUS. I know there’s still ongoing litigation. It’ll probably have to go back to the Supreme Court,” Gupton says. “But we’re pleased with the announcement and look forward to working with Administrator Zeldin on this important issue.”
In the latest The Scoop podcast, the two provide further updates on economic assistance coming out of USDA, the future of the Farm Bill, and important grassroots efforts from ag retailers themselves.
