Farmers and ranchers were a key political constituency for President Trump in 2016. But after a year of trade-policy skirmishes, the president’s policy choices have fallen particularly hard on the heartland. Slashing tariffs and domestic subsidies would be key to opening new agricultural markets abroad, but policymakers in Congress and the White House regrettably moved in the opposite direction in 2018.

Trump’s ill-advised trade policies have wreaked havoc on agriculture exports. This spring, the president imposed “national security” tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, including products from our closest allies like Canada and the European Union. In retaliation, the EU imposed tariffs on $3.2 billion worth of American products, 30 percent of which were agriculture and food products, including corn. Meanwhile, Canada retaliated with tariffs on $12.8 billion of American products, 19 percent of which were agriculture and food products. Other countries like Turkey have also retaliated against American agriculture exports like tobacco.