GOP lawmakers seek Trump aid for agricultural equipment after tariff pressure

Republican lawmakers are appealing to President Donald Trump for more farm relief and aid for agricultural equipment manufacturers amid his tariff blitz, even as the president has made a $12 billion bailout for farmers hurt by his trade policies. 

Farmers have said that Trump’s tariff policies have hit their bottom lines, since they rely on exports to international trade competitors, including China, to stay afloat.

That hit comes on top of several years of low commodity prices and high costs for key inputs like fertilizer, which were already forcing farmers to tighten their belts.

The reduction in demand for new equipment from cash-strapped farmers led to layoffs earlier this year by some of the largest manufacturers, including Deere.

Cory Reed, president of Deere’s agriculture and turf division, told the Financial Times this week that the “US market has been the one under the most pressure . . . based on what’s happened with trade flows, what’s happened with tariffs and what’s happened with the escalating cost structure internally, as we’ve seen that market cycle down.”

Kip Eideberg, the head of government and industry relations at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, said, “We remain concerned that persistent high tariffs, especially on critical parts and components that cannot be sourced domestically, will inadvertently harm our farmers and ranchers and drive up costs for all Americans.”

The dynamic has alarmed lawmakers, some of whom asked Trump to step in as he attempts to rescue farmers, a loyal voting bloc, from the financial fallout of his trade policies. 

A spokesperson for Trump-ally Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the senator has appealed to the administration.

“Last week, Senator Grassley raised constituent concerns to the White House, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, sharing that equipment manufacturers could use targeted relief from the tariffs and urging the administration to remove tariffs on specific farm machinery parts,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

Other Republican senators have spoken up, too.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in an interview that the equipment issue came up at a Monday roundtable at the White House where Trump laid out his relief plan for farmers injured by his trade policies. He said the president was receptive to pleas for aid to farmers for equipment. 

“We talked specifically with the president about it, and he specifically said he wants to look at how he can help make farm equipment more affordable,” Hoeven said. 

Hoeven said Trump suggested “reducing some of the regulatory burdens on farm equipment manufacturers,” to keep costs down. 

Trump at that roundtable publicly suggested he would slash environmental regulations on farm equipment manufacturers, but only if those companies reduce their prices. 

Those regulations do not “do anything except it makes the equipment much more expensive and much more complicated to work, and it’s not as good as the old days,” Trump said.

“We’re gonna do it and we’re gonna say ‘you’re gonna reduce the prices.’ “

But Republican lawmakers argue that the solution lies in getting farmers more income so they can purchase new equipment.

That may be a tall order, given the already tight margins for operating a farm, and the impact from Trump’s tariffs.

Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., a former House Agriculture Committee Chair and a farmer himself, said the sagging market for manufacturers is indicative of a poor farm economy.

“When the equipment dealers start to scream, when the fertilizer and seed dealers start to scream, when the banks start to scream, there’s a problem,” Lucas said.

“I think the $12 billion aid package that the administration is talking about is a step in that direction, and I will also admit to you, we just need to wrap up some of these trade negotiations and get our products back into the world markets.”   

The Trump administration has been engaged in trade talks with various countries, and in some cases have lowered tariffs as a result.

Trump’s $12 billion trade bailout, dubbed the Farmer Bridge Payment Program, carves out $11 billion for row crop farmers who grow massive quantities of crops like corn and soybeans. Farmers this year already were getting roughly $30 billion in supplemental aid from the federal government

Additional federal funds will flow next October, when provisions from the Republican reconciliation package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act kick in. 

But American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall warned that farmers will need more than that to get by. 

“Bridge support is a down payment, and members in Congress have already expressed their desire to fill in the gaps,” Duvall wrote on the group’s website. 

Some members of Congress agreed, signaling a likely additional influx of federal funds into agriculture down the road. 

Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said farmers are in their third year in a row where “if they’re growing something in the ground, they’re losing money.” 

“We’re prepared to do more in Congress if we need to do it,” he said.