Op-Ed by Jim Farley
President Donald Trump won Florida in the 2024 election by more than 13 points. With nearly 1.5 million more votes than Harris, it was the biggest win a presidential candidate has had here in decades. He won for a lot of reasons, but I believe one of the biggest reasons is that Floridians know he’s one of us. We have full faith in President Trump to Make Florida Great Again. But there are dark storm clouds gathering over our beautiful state, and they need Trump’s full attention.
Soon after taking office, President Trump launched his campaign to restore fairness to our trade system with foreign countries and bring jobs back to America. Just like the millions of Americans who voted for him, I support reviving America’s manufacturing industry and creating opportunities for working-class Americans who have been left behind. Previous presidents made bad trade deals that allowed countries to take advantage of us, and someone has got to change that. As a master negotiator and deal-maker, I believe Trump is the man for the job.
At the same time, it’s become clear that farmers like me in Florida will get caught in the crosshairs of the trade war. Now that President Trump has placed a 25% tariff on everything coming in from Canada and Mexico, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has retaliated with a 25% tariff of his own and targeted exports of products from “red states” like Florida. He encouraged Canadians to boycott Florida orange juice. We are clearly at the beginning of a trade war, and Canada is going to hit back where it hurts the most.
Florida citrus growers and other farmers simply cannot afford to lose customers or incur any additional costs. The U.S. is the biggest supplier of citrus to Canada, providing 60% of its orange juice. Even though orange juice from Brazil, our biggest competitor, is typically cheaper, Canada still gets more citrus products from us. But what is going to happen when Canada retaliates on U.S. tariffs with a 25% tariff of their own on our citrus products? They’re going to buy more from Brazil and leave us farmers to suffer the consequences. And what’s going to happen when tariffs force us to pay more for the fertilizer ingredients we mostly get from Canada? Our costs are going to go up, making us even less competitive against our foreign competitors.
Retaliatory tariffs from our biggest trading partners are going to cause a lot of pain, but so is the economic uncertainty a trade war creates. As farmers, we deal with a lot of variables. We deal with hurricanes, freezes, and draughts that affect crops in unpredictable ways. We have to fight invasive pests like the Asian Citrus Psyllid that has devastated the citrus industry across Florida. And despite all of this, we have to take out loans and make other financial commitments months or even years ahead of time before we know what the market will look like. It’s just not possible to fully adapt to the quickly-evolving dynamics of a trade war.
Now, President Trump is smart and I know he’s aware of this. He’s probably spent more time talking to farmers and thinking about how to save us than any other president. His beautiful Mar-a-Lago property is in the county that leads all of Florida in total value of agricultural products sold, Palm Beach County. But that’s also why we are a target in a trade war. Canada, Mexico, and China are going to hit back where it will hurt most. That means industries in states that are the most loyal to Trump are going to get caught in the crosshairs, including farmers here in Florida.
I have faith Trump will find other ways to restore fairness and balance to our international trade. He’s a master negotiator who has always found a way to make a deal that puts America first. I appreciate all he has done for us and our country. I just want him to remember us when Trudeau talks about retaliating against “red states.” More tariffs and an escalating trade war isn’t the answer. Jim Farley, a multi-generational cattle rancher from Clay County.
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