The Tariff Free Farming Act proposes removing tariffs on multiple imported ag goods
A House Representative tabled a bill that if passed would “prohibit the imposition of additional tariffs on agricultural inputs from imported countries to which the United States has extended normal trade relations.”
Democratic Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02) introduced the Tariff Free Farming Act to provide farmers with relief from already high input costs.
“The president’s tariffs are a tax on our farmers and ranchers, who already fight for survival on razor-thin margins. Every dollar added to the cost of fencing, fertilizer, or equipment threatens their livelihoods, and ultimately drive-up prices for American families at the grocery store,” she said in a statement.
Under Tokuda’s bill, tariffs on inputs like seed and fertilizer, feed and fuel, and machinery, would go back to the rates as of January 19, 2025.
At that time tariffs for some listed ag inputs were at zero.
It was on Feb. 1, 2025, that President Trump signed executive orders imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10 per cent additional tariffs on China.
Data indicates an imbalance between the collected tariffs and their impact on U.S. farmers.
The Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies at North Dakota State University looked at International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) tariffs between February and October 2025.
The numbers show the U.S. collected about $958 million from tariffs on ag inputs between those months.
But when factored against retail input prices, “U.S. farmers and input suppliers may have borne economic costs substantially greater than the tariff revenue itself,” the university’s study says.
Tokuda’s press release suggests estimates show tariffs have cost U.S. farmers $8 billion.
Rep. Tokuda tabled her bill six days after President Trump placed a 10 percent global tariff, effective Feb. 24, on all goods coming into the U.S. The president also indicated that rate could go as high as 15 percent.
Some ag products like fertilizers, beef, tomatoes, oranges, and goods that fall under the USMCA trade agreement, are exempt from the levy.
These tariffs came after the Supreme Court ruled Trump didn’t have tariff authority under IEPPA.