‘Anxious’: US farmers see tariffs threaten earnings

As President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs took effect this weekend, US farmers hoping for a profit this year instead found themselves facing lower crop prices -- and the prospect of ceding more ground in foreign markets.

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"We're already getting below break-even at the current time," said Jim Martin, a fifth-generation Illinois farmer who grows soybeans and corn.

"We knew it was coming," he told AFP of Trump's tariffs. "I guess we're anxious to see how things are going to eventually be resolved."

The president's 10-percent "baseline" rate on goods from most US trading partners except Mexico and Canada took effect Saturday.

And dozens of economies, including the European Union, China and India, are set to face even higher levels tailored to each party starting Wednesday.

With talk of retaliation, farmers, a key support base in Trump's 2024 re-election campaign, are again in the crossfire and bracing for losses.

Prices for many US agricultural products fell alongside the stock market on Friday, following Trump's tariff announcement and China's pushback.

China, the third-biggest importer of American farm goods behind Canada and Mexico, is set to be hard hit, with a 34-percent US duty on its products piling on an earlier 20-percent levy.