Corn, soybean, and wheat futures all plunged in trading after President Trump said the U.S. would impose tariffs on several trading partners. The president said at an event at the White House Rose Garden that the U.S. would put a 54% tariff on goods imported from China, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans, which will take effect on April 9. Tariffs were imposed on many countries including a 24% levy on goods from Japan, 36% on items from Thailand, and 20% on products from the UK. Canadian and Mexican goods will still face 25% tariffs.
Trump announces broad tariffs at ‘Liberation Day’ White House event
China said it “firmly opposes” the sweeping duties and will take “resolute countermeasures” to counteract the sweeping duties. The European Union, which faces 20% levies on its products, is preparing additional tariffs of its own on U.S. products and Canada said it will unveil countermeasures today. Corn futures dropped 8¢ to $4.49¾ a bushel.
President Trump’s administration calculated its raft of new tariffs primarily based on existing trade balances — a departure from pledges to match the tariff rates and other trade barriers from other countries. In a statement published Wednesday night to explain its methodology for tariffs that rocked the globe, the United States Trade Representative detailed a formula that divides a country’s trade surplus with the U.S. by its total exports, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2024. That number was then divided by two, producing the “discounted” rate. China, for instance, had a trade surplus of $295 billion with the U.S. last year on total exports of $438 billion — a ratio of 68%. Divided by two according to Trump’s formula, that yielded a tariff rate of 34%. The same calculations roughly produced the rates for other economies like Japan, South Korea and the European Union. Countries where the U.S. runs a trade surplus were also hit, facing a flat 10% rate regardless, as did nations where trade was roughly even.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)