By Joshua Baethge
In case you haven’t heard, Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office on a mission to revamp the government. During his more than 2,800-word inauguration speech (the longest in nearly 100 years), the 45th and now 47th president vowed to make the United States the envy of every nation.
“The golden age of America begins right now,” Trump said moments after taking his oath of office. “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.”
Following his 30-minute address, Trump began issuing executive orders well into the evening. Many of those could have major implications for farmers and the agriculture industry.
Trump signed an executive order declaring a national energy emergency. According to the president, this action is needed to increase energy production which he contends is “far too inadequate” to meet the nation’s needs. Included in that order is a provision to consider issuing emergency fuel waivers allowing year-round E15 sales. Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper thanked Trump for his action.
“At the same time, we renew our call on Congress to adopt legislation as quickly as possible that permanently allows year-round sales of lower-cost E15,” Cooper said in a Jan. 20 press release. “Passing a bill would provide the market with long-term certainty and stability and make emergency waivers unnecessary.”
Trump also issued an order freezing any rules that have yet to be finalized. This includes recent announcements like the clean fuel tax incentive guidance that was unveiled earlier this month. Just last week, outgoing Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new guidelines expanding feedstocks eligible for clean fuel tax credits. It remains unclear how or if the Trump administration plans to move forward with President Biden’s clean fuel tax incentive program.
As expected, Trump announced several orders to crack down on immigration, both legal and illegal. Included in those are provisions to expedite deportations for certain immigrants designated to be in criminal gangs. Trump immediately halted the program allowing legal migrants to enter the U.S using an app known at CBP One. He also announced children of undocumented immigrants would not automatically be recognized as U.S. citizens. As of Wednesday, 18 states had already sued to prevent that rule from going into effect.
It’s unclear how much the new immigration laws will impact farmers. According to some estimates, undocumented workers make up nearly half of the U.S. agriculture labor force. Any labor disruption could potentially slow production and increase costs for farmers.
Notably, Trump did not immediately impose 25% tariffs on Canada or Mexico. During the campaign, the president repeatedly promised to do so on his first day in office. Instead, Trump announced the creation of a new government office known as the External Revenue Service. He says the office will be responsible for collecting tariffs on imports.
“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” Trump said during his inaugural address. “It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury coming from foreign sources.”
Trump later said he may impose those tariffs on Feb. 1, as well as tariffs on China, the European Union and other nations.
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