Klobuchar, trade reps slam Canada, Mexico tariff threats as bad for Minnesota farmers

A trade war with America’s neighbors was, seemingly, put on the backburner earlier this week. But farmers aren’t breathing any easier.

“This is another way to drive a few farmers off the farm,” said Gary Wertish, a Renville County farmer and president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, speaking on the ramifications if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.

Months ahead of the spring planting season, Wertish said many farmers are worried negotiations will fall apart and the plan postponed a month this week will be reinstated by Trump and place tariffs on Canadian goods, including fertilizer.

“The farmer doesn’t have the ability — if he’s going to have to pay a 25 percent tax on the potash that he puts on his land — we don’t have the ability to put a 25 percent tax on the commodities that we sell,” said

Wertish joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Friday morning, along with a representative of the construction trades, to blast Trump’s plan to levy 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. The plan is on hold a month while the countries negotiate with Trump officials.

Hours after returning from late voting in Washington, D.C., Klobuchar, the Democrat from Minnesota, warned of trade turbulence on the horizon for Minnesota’s biggest trading partner, just over the northern border.

While Klobuchar said she sees how targeted tariffs, like against China for dumping steel, can work, she said across-the-board taxes will raise prices, especially on family essentials like groceries.

“You can do the targeted [tariffs] and you can join with your other trading partners to take [China] on,” Klobuchar said. “But the problem with this bank-shot, with going after Canada and Mexico in this way, is these are our friends and allies.”

Retaliatory tariffs, which the countries threatened, would hit U.S. exports, including Minnesota farm products ranging from grain to pork. Minnesota businesses export roughly $7 billion a year in goods to Canada — roughly a quarter of the state’s overall trade.

Trump paused the tariff plan because Mexico and Canada agreed to strengthen border security measures and further crack down on fentanyl trafficking.

Dan McConnell, president of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, noted that tariffs would drive up costs of construction materials. Moreover, the possible 90-day federal spending freeze proposed by the Trump administration — if it comes to fruition — could force contractors to punt on projects in cold-weather states like Minnesota.

“You can see projects get pushed back,” McConnell said. “That’s the mess ... in a short construction season [like] we have here in Minnesota. In 90 days, you can see a project get pushed back an entire year.”

In late January, Trump ordered the 90-day pause on federal grants. A federal judge blocked the action, and the administration rescinded the order.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, then-candidate Trump beat a steady drum promising he’d impose tariffs upon friends and foes in order to accomplish a variety of goals from protecting American interests to raising revenue. With Canada and Mexico, Trump has specifically pointed to the flow of drugs and immigrants across North American borders.

“The tariffs are about chaos,” Klobuchar said, referencing studies showing the costs of tariffs could spike grocery bills for Americans by $1,200 annually. “It feels so distant to some people, but [then] you hear these real-world examples.”

Klobuchar also noted two-thirds of Minnesota’s energy imports come from Canada, suggesting the specter of rising energy costs.

There’s some concern that, after renegotiating North American trade agreements during Trump’s first term, unpredictability will risk damaging relationships with partners historically relied upon.

“It’s no different than if you’re a farmer, you’re working with your neighbor, and your word is your trust,” Wertish said. “Are we trusted as a reliable trading partner?”