American Farmers Bracing for Impact of New Tariffs Between U.S. and Canada

Wednesday, September 9th, 2026 -- 12:00 PM

(Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) American farmers are bracing for the impact of new tariffs exchanged between the U.S. and Canada on both their supply costs and their sales.

The President’s administration placed new 50 percent tariffs on around $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after trade talks between the two countries fell apart in late August. Canada came back with its own list of equivalent import taxes on American goods that go into effect on Tuesday.

Amid a barrage of social media posts criticizing the United States’ northern neighbor, the President claimed Americans “don’t need Canada.” But Jayash Paudel, associate professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma, said trade data tells a different story, especially for farmers and agriculture-related manufacturers.

He pointed out that Canada bought $28 billion in U.S. agricultural goods last year, making it the second-largest export market behind Mexico. “It’s not really about winning or losing here,” Paudel said of the latest tariff exchange. “I think ultimately the heat is going to be felt by Americans.”

Dairy products are a central part of both tariff lists, including everything from finished cheeses to ingredients like whey. Karen Gefvert, chief policy officer for Wisconsin-based Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, said the dairy supply chains between the two countries are tightly interwoven. She said both processors and farmers will feel the pain if sales to Canada are slowed or canceled.

“We’ll have more product domestically than we can consume, because those export markets take time (to develop),” said Gefvert, whose cooperative represents farms across the country. “That backup of the supply chain is real, and that will have a negative effect on price.”

By comparison, prices are likely to rise for equipment that producers need for farming and processing food, like harvesters and machines used to clean eggs, thanks to tariffs from both countries.

Canada is a critical producer of steel and aluminum for the U.S., and materials often cross back and forth over the border as they travel through the supply chain, according to Paudel.

“A tariff can hit the same component more than once,” he said. “It ends up raising the machinery cost for American farmers, even though the tariff is Canadian.” The current administration previously moved in June to lower U.S. tariffs placed on equipment made from steel, aluminum and copper.

But industry experts have expressed doubt that the cut would be enough to keep the cost of farm equipment from increasing.

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