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President Trump Threatens New Round of Tariffs Over the Weekend: Here’s the Latest

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:54:06 GMT

U.S. commodity markets were down to start the week in Sunday night trade as the markets digested the latest tariff announcement by President Donald Trump. On Saturday, President Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1. The announcement came after a string of new tariff threats last week, as the Trump administration’s deadline for trade deals came due.

On Monday, President Trump continued with tariff talk, saying he would implement “severe tariffs” on Russia unless a peace deal is reached with Ukraine within 50 days.

He provided few details on how they would be implemented but described them as 100% secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

The latest tariff threats weren’t good news for farmers looking to price fertilizer for fall, as StoneX Group says Russia is the United States’ top destination for both urea and UAN imports. StoneX points out Russia’s market chair has “grown substantially in recent years.”

Monday’s news follows a week where many anticipated trade deals. Instead, President Trump made a series of announcements with new tariffs. The new tariffs on Mexico and the European Union, which Trump announced Saturday, capped off a week of sweeping tariff threats.

Earlier in the week, Trump warned of a possible:

50% tariff on all copper imports
50% tariff on all goods from Brazil
35% tariff on Canadian goods
25% tariff on goods from Japan
25% tariff on imports from South Korea
200% tariff on imported pharmaceuticals

The positive side of the announcements is the Trump administration says any products covered under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (UMCA) won’t face the new tariffs.

President Trump also sent letters to both Japan and South Korea last week, saying their goods will be taxed at 25% starting August 1st.

The President posted the two letters he sent to those countries’ leaders on his Truth Social site. In the letter to South Korea, he stated when it comes to Korea’s tariff and non-tariff polices and trade barriers, the relationship between the two countries has been far from reciprocal. He added the 25% tariff was far less than what he says is needed to eliminate a trade deficit disparity.

The letter to Japan added if Japanese companies decide to build or manufacture a product within the U.S., there will be no tariffs. Japanese and U.S. negotiators have been working for several weeks to try and reach a deal.

Lack of Progress Impacts Commodity Prices
The lack of trade announcements last week was just one factor that caused corn prices to tank, according to AgMarket.net’s Matt Bennett. While rain in the upper Corn Belt was also bearish for the markets, little to no movement on trade is also pressuring prices.

“We had no trade announcements, and then we continued to talk about tariffs. The unfortunate reality right now is it appears the administration is playing the long game, trying to get people to come to the table with better trade deals than what we currently have seen. But it certainly isn’t doing any favors for the corn market,” Bennett said on U.S. Farm Report this weekend. “I think something like a big trade agreement certainly could tilt the tide more in the favor of the corn market moving higher. Until you get that, with weather being as good as what it is, there’s nothing there.”

It’s not all bearish, though. Arlan Suderman of StoneX Group says the 50% tariff on Brazil is actually bullish for beef.

“We already have a shortage of protein in America with the cattle herd being shrinking over recent years because of lingering drought in the western half of the country, and supplies are tight. We’re just getting to the point of trying to rebuild those supplies, which holding back heifers, tightens up the supply of meat even more. We’re feeding to record-high carcass weights to try to fill the void. We’re increasing imports to record levels. Brazil is the primary supplier of those imports: 27% of our imports come from Brazil in the first five months of the year, according to the latest data we have available, that’s 666 million pounds. That’s 4% of consumption,” Suderman says.

If you think 4% doesn’t sound like a big deal, Suderman says it is - especially considering meat demand in the U.S. has turned out to be inelastic.

“We’ve been shifting from a starch-based diet more heavily toward protein-based. And as the prices go up, we’re actually increasing demand for beef and the other proteins - but we don’t have the supply of it. I think that could be a real problem going forward for the meat industry and the meat supply. We will have to find somewhere else to get that meat,” Suderman says.

Are Trade Deals Close?

While President Trump initially stated he had reached trade agreements with 200 countries, only a few have been officially announced. These include deals with China, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, however. Negotiations with other countries are ongoing, with the administration extending the deadline for tariff-related negotiations to August 1.

The European Union says it was working on sealing a trade deal with the U.S. by the end of this month, and the European Commission president says the EU was working closely with the Trump administration to reach a deal.

It's Crunch Time: Countries Receive Letters on Tariff Increases as Implementation Date is Extended

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 13:38:38 GMT

It’s crunch time for tariff and trade negotiations. President Trump has stated he won’t extend the 90-day pause on tariffs meaning countries had until July 9 to show good faith in negotiations or face higher tariffs.

On Monday, 14 countries received letters indicating tariff increases of 25% to 40%, including Japan and South Korea.

However, the President also signed an Executive Order delaying the implementation of the increased tariffs until Aug. 1.

Frayne Olson, extension crops economist with North Dakota State University says that provides some wiggle room.

“So, we do have a couple of weeks to try and get some kind of an agreement in place, at least, again, an agreement in principle. It doesn’t have to be the full contract or the full trade agreement, but some kind of agreement in place before August 1.”

Without a deal, tariffs currently at 10% will go back up to the 20% to 49% set on April 2.

The biggest concern lies with Japan and South Korea, who face 25% additional tariffs as they’ve failed to make concessions on ag trade, including rice.

Olson says, “As we start getting really close to the end here, some of these ag products are now rearing their head as being some of the negotiating and sticky portions for these agreements. So, again, that’s why the anxiety is starting to rise.”

The key, he says, is none of these countries have signaled counter measures.

“We haven’t had any retaliation. There’s still time to get some kind of an agreement in place, but the time is running out very quickly,” he says.

So, what are the odds U.S. trade negotiators will reach agreements with these countries?

Joe Glauber, senior research fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute says he’s optimistic about Japan and South Korea because the stakes are high.

“I mean, there’s a lot of impetus for Japan and South Korea to try to get an agreement on some sort of framework agreement.”

But Glauber admits if there is retaliation from these two important trading partners various U.S. ag sectors could be seriously hurt.

“Yeah, both Japan and Korea certainly the grains would be hit very hard, oil seeds would be hit hard in, and soybeans are tough because we are facing, you know, we have this problem right now with China. We have a 23 % tariff on our, on facing US beans going into China. “

Glauber points out, even with the deals already announced with the U.K. and Vietnam, few details are known and these are not full blown binding trade agreements only frameworks.

“So again, you know, what’s of interest to me, you know, is what’s the enforcement for these agreements? How does it work going forward? I mean, again, we’re hoping for the best, obviously, that this results in more access for U .S. farm goods. But you want something that’s lasting as well, not just something that goes for, You know six months or a year or whatever.”

And so in Glauber’s opinion, its too early to know whether or not U.S. agriculture will truly benefit from any of these trade agreements.

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins Says New Deals May Be Struck Over Tariffs By End of Week

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 02:48:03 GMT

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that new deals could be struck with other countries over trade tariffs by the end of this week.

Rollins made the comments in an interview to Fox News host Bret Baier on the network’s “Special Report” show.

Why It’s Important

President Donald Trump said last week that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S. and higher duties on dozens of other countries, including some of Washington’s biggest trading partners, rattling global markets and bewildering U.S. allies.

After China retaliated with its own tariffs, the United States said on Tuesday that 104% duties on imports from China would take effect shortly after midnight, even as the Trump administration moved to quickly start talks with other trading partners targeted by Trump’s sweeping tariff plan.

“I believe, sincerely, it will be sooner rather than later. I believe we’ll be hearing about new deals that are being struck, perhaps by the end of the week,”

Rollins said, adding 70 countries had reached out to the U.S. for talks.

U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday for a fourth straight trading day since Trump’s tariffs announcement last week.

The administration has scheduled talks with South Korea and Japan, two close allies and major trading partners, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to visit next week.
Trump’s sweeping tariffs have raised fears of recession and upended a global trading order that has been in place for decades.

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Which Country Imports the Most U.S. Wheat?

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 13:34:09 GMT

Did you know about half of all wheat grown in the U.S. is exported? USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) estimates 21 million metric tons of wheat was shipped out of U.S. ports in 2022, totaling $8.49 billion.

The Mississippi and Columbia-Snake rivers help push grain by barge to export facilities in the Gulf and Pacific Northwest. However, the region between these two rivers instead relies heavily on rail to move grain, with USDA finding 50% to 60% of all wheat exports from 2014 to 2019 were moved to ports by rail.

The biggest export markets for U.S. wheat in 2022, particularly hard red winter, was Mexico followed by the Philippines and Japan. However, non-tariff trade barriers could push The Philippines and Japan out of the top three, according to the U.S Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2023 Foreign Trade Barriers report .

USTR is required to annually review the “operation and effectiveness” of U.S. trade agreement to ensure compliance. Here’s what the 2023 report unearthed from the biggest importers of U.S. wheat.

Where Does Japan Stand?

Japan imported $912.38 million worth of U.S. wheat in 2022, and this week, Japan sought 78,732 million tons of milling wheat in its weekly tender.

But USTR says the U.S. regularly monitors Japan’s wheat trade for its potential to distort trade as a result of its system.

So, what does Japan’s trade landscape look like?

Japan requires wheat to be imported through its Grain Trade and Operations Division to secure the lowest tariff rate. It then resells the wheat to Japanese flour millers at prices substantially above import prices through a markup, according to USDA.

USTR’s findings come as the U.S. and Japan finalized trade deals in ethanol and critical minerals last week.

“One week, two deals. Our two countries are making a better future,” said Rahm Emanuel, U.S. ambassador to Japan.

The trade landscape in The Philippines looks much different, however.

Imports in The Philippines

The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) uses the Sanitary-Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) system to restrict certain ag imports during peak harvest times. Through this system, the DA requires importers to obtain an import permit, which is only active for 15 to 90 days.

According to USTR, the SPSIC permit for wheat is bound by a 20-day expiration and can put up a trade wall.

“The length of validity and issuance appear to be based on the political sensitivity of the products rather than on sanitary… risk,” USTR said in the report.

So, what does the USTR intend to do about these non-tariff trade barriers?

Keeping an Eye on Trade Barriers

Understanding the full scope of non-tariff trade barriers in countries such as Japan and The Philippines is difficult because there’s no way to quantify the additional costs of the restrictions, according to USTR.

However, USTR says it intends to address each country about the wheat trade constraints.

“The United States continues to urge Japan to remove a broad range of barriers to U.S. exports, including barriers at the border as well as other barriers to entering and expanding the presence of U.S. products and services in the Japanese market,” USTR said in the report.

This could be carried out through enforcement of the U. S.–Japan Trade Agreement (USJTA), which allows more than 90% of U.S. ag exports to Japan to be duty free or receive preferential tariff access.

The U.S. and The Philippines will likely sort their wheat trade differences through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) that was signed into law in 1989.

“This Agreement [TIFA] is the primary mechanism for discussions of trade and investment issues between the United States and the Philippines,” USTR said in the report.

U.S., Japan Sign Limited Deal on Farming, Digital Trade Deals

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:52:11 GMT

The U.S. and Japan signed a limited trade deal intended to boost markets for American farmers and give Tokyo assurances, for now, that President Donald Trump won’t impose tariffs on auto imports.

The accords on agriculture and digital trade cover about $55 billion worth of commerce between the world’s largest- and third-biggest economies, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said at a ceremony in the Oval Office alongside Trump.

The accord is a “game changer for our farmers” and ranchers, Trump said at the event.

The goal is for the accord to take effect Jan. 1.

Trump, who faces re-election next year, was eager to make a deal with Japan to appease U.S. farmers who have been largely shut out of the Chinese market as a result of his trade war with Beijing. American agricultural producers, also reeling from bad weather and low commodity prices, are a core component of Trump’s political base.

Under the deal, Japan will lower or reduce tariffs on some $7.2 billion of American-grown farming products, including beef and pork.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s priority was to win a pledge that the U.S. won’t slap tariffs on Japanese automobile exports, a sector valued at about $50 billion a year and a cornerstone of the country’s economy.

Read more: Click here for the most recent research from Bloomberg Economics

The written text of the deal doesn’t explicitly cover auto tariffs, but Abe has said he received assurances that Japan would be spared from them.

The proposed pact won’t lower the barriers protecting Japan’s rice farmers -- a powerful group supporting Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. This could help the prime minster smooth the deal’s course through parliament, where it must be ratified before coming into effect.

The U.S. has said this agreement -- which was signed in principle on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last month -- is just the first phase of a broader agreement.