Trump Announces Tariffs on Agricultural Imports Starting Next Month

The announcement comes as the United States is set to impose duties on products from Canada and Mexico this week.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 7, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump said on March 3 that the United States will impose tariffs on “external” agricultural products starting next month. The announcement comes as the Trump administration is set to impose duties on products from Canada and Mexico this week.

Trump wrote on social media on March 3 that U.S. farms can “get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold inside of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd.”

His post didn’t provide more details on the tariff amount, what products would be impacted by the tariffs, or if any exemptions would be included. Also unclear is if the decision is part of a previously announced plan to enact reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

In February, Trump issued 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States in what he said was an attempt to boost production inside the country. He said that such duties are needed to offset “unfair trade practices and global excess capacity” as well as to counter loopholes that have been exploited by the Chinese regime and other countries.

Later, Trump signaled that he would implement tariffs on lumber, cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and other imports.  Such measures, he said, are needed to safeguard U.S. industries and bolster manufacturing.

On Feb. 27,  Trump said that 25 percent tariffs targeting a broad range of goods from Mexico and Canada would be imposed starting on March 4. The president said he’s also planning to hit Chinese imports with a new 10 percent tariff, tacked on to tariffs that he initiated in his first administration.

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed tariffs scheduled to go into effect on March Fourth will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10 percent Tariff on that date.”

The tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods were originally scheduled to go into effect in early February, but Trump postponed them after holding talks with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Regarding the reasons for imposing those duties, the president cited what he said were the countries’ failure to prevent illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking into the United States.

An additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods went into effect last month. Trump said that the Chinese regime’s failure to stop the production of precursor chemicals to manufacture fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has been blamed for the death of tens of thousands of Americans in recent years, necessitates the new tariffs.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on March 3 told reporters that her administration is still waiting to see whether Trump makes good on his threat this time around.

“It’s a decision that depends on the United States government, on the United States president,” Sheinbaum said. “So whatever his decision is, we will make our decisions and there is a plan and there is unity in Mexico.”

After Trump’s announcement last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to retaliate.

“We will continue to do that work and do everything necessary to avoid these tariffs coming in, but like I said, if on Tuesday there are unjustified tariffs brought in on Canada, we will have an immediate and extremely strong response, as Canadians expect,” he told reporters.

Trump’s actions follow up on campaign promises to make tariffs a key part of his economic agenda.

The president on Jan. 20 signed an order directing agencies to investigate whether it’s possible to create an “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs, duties, and other foreign trade-related revenues.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.