Trump Double Whammy has Ohio Farmers Facing "Full Collapse"

Combined with other factors, President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods are costing Ohio farmers — and their counterparts in other states — heavily, according to a new report.

Statistics show that regional businesses are facing higher input costs due to tariffs, with many passing those costs on to consumers. (Photo: Ohio Farmers Union Facebook)

The study shows Ohio farmers lost nearly $76 million in exports to China this year compared with a year earlier, Marty Schladen reported for Ohio Capital Journal.

Tariffs are taxes on imports, and since the start of his second term, Trump has imposed a shifting array of them on nearly every country in the world — except Russia, according to the Atlantic Council’s Tariff Tracker.

Economists say the unpredictability of the measures has slowed business investment because companies are unable to plan.

Surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland show regional businesses are facing higher input costs due to tariffs, with many passing those costs on to consumers.

“After steady declines in 2024, U.S. agricultural exports to China fell by more than half in the first eight months of 2025,” the report said. “The low point came in May, when monthly exports dropped to just $247 million — the lowest level in more than a decade.”