The nonpartisan Minnesota Soybean Growers Association issued the following statement after President Trump declared the U.S. trade deficit a national emergency and placed tariffs on many of U.S. soy’s largest trading partners.  

“As Minnesota family farmers, our livelihoods depend on strong trade partnerships across the globe,” President Darin Johnson said. “Soybeans are Minnesota’s top ag export – about 60% of our crop is sent to international markets. To damage those relationships that we’ve spent decades building would be devastating to not just farmer profitability, but rural and urban communities across Minnesota. We’ve already seen that no one wins in a trade war. While we gear up for the upcoming planting season, we strongly urge the administration to work with our trading partners to de-escalate the situation in a timely fashion.” 

Minnesota is the nation’s fourth largest agricultural exporting state, valued at $10 billion annually. Soybean exports in Minnesota account for over 25% of the state’s total exports, equating to about $2 billion in sales each year. Roughly one in four rows of Minnesota soybeans is sent to China, and the state’s overall agricultural exports have increased by more than 300% in the past 25 years.  

In the 2023/2024 marketing year, U.S. exporters shipped 46.1 million metric tons (MMT) of soybeans to foreign markets, accounting for nearly $24 billion in sales. During the 2018 trade war with China, U.S. agriculture experienced over $27 billion in losses, with soybeans comprising 71% of those losses. The nation’s half-million soybean farmers continue to grapple with long-term reputational impacts, as the markets they worked for years to build – over 40 years for China – are rooted in being able to supply a reliable, quality crop.

The American Soybean Association is urging the administration to pursue agreements with priority countries before the reciprocal tariffs go into effect to open market access for U.S. agriculture and minimize the potential for immediate retaliation. ASA also is asking the administration to quickly attempt to strike a Phase Two agreement with China that addresses U.S. trade concerns and avoids U.S. agriculture suffering through a prolonged, costly trade war. 

“We’ve seen the effects of these trade wars before, and it’s not pretty,” said Minnesota farmer Bob Worth, one of six farmers representing Minnesota on ASA. “We very much hope there’s a quick resolution.”