U.S. corn may be spared from Mexican tariffs

Jun 07, 2019

Mexico is the number one export destination for American corn

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

U.S. corn might not be hit in Mexico’s latest round of retaliatory tariffs.

President Trump announced on May 30 that the United States would impose a 5 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico beginning June 10 unless the country increased its immigration enforcement.

The tariffs could increase to as much as 25 percent by October 1 if Mexico doesn’t meet President Trump’s request.

In response, Mexico is creating a list of U.S. goods to tax.

Mexico’s economy ministry prepared the list and it doesn’t include one key U.S. ag commodity.

“The list submitted to the (Mexican) president’s office excludes U.S. corn,” two sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

But that decision could change, one source said.

Mexico is a substantial market for U.S. corn.

The American ag industry exported more than US$3.3 billion of corn and corn products to Mexico in 2017-2018.

U.S. farmers support the need for immigration control but struggle with being pulled into the political conflict.

“I understand what the president is trying to do,” Angie Williams, a producer from Avon, Ind., told The Guardian Friday. “I support him, I just wish it didn’t affect us so personally.”

Farm groups like the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) would like to see a different approach to settling this dispute.

The organization “strongly urges the President to rethink applying new tariffs to Mexican goods and to reconsider using tariffs to address non-trade issues,” Lynn Chrisp, president of the NCGA, said in a May 31 statement.

Farms.com has reached out to the U.S. Grains Council and other corn groups for comment on the situation.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.