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In the latest escalation of the global trade fight initiated by President Donald Trump, the European Union announced plans Wednesday to impose retaliatory tariffs on $19.6 billion worth of U.S.
products , including proposed tariffs on some of Nebraska's top exports. Responding to Trump's 25% tariffs on all global steel and aluminum imports, the bloc of European countries said they would reinstitute tariffs initially imposed in 2018 — but suspended during former President Joe Biden's tenure — on products that include boats, bourbon and motorcycles beginning April 1. The EU also said it would impose additional countermeasures in mid-April targeting a list of industrial and agricultural products.
EU leaders will finalize which U.S. exports they plan to impose tariffs on later this month, but a list of proposed targeted products unveiled Wednesday includes some of Nebraska's top exports to the bloc , including vegetables and beef.
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It's unclear whether Nebraska's top exports to EU countries — soybeans and beef products — will be affected by the tariffs, or whether the taxes will be imposed at all. The president has already postponed some tariffs he had made on-again, off-again threats to impose against imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada, suggesting Trump's global steel and aluminum tariffs could be suspended before the EU's countermeasures come to pass. But the uncertainty alone is the source of growing angst for Nebraska's agricultural producers who have been on edge since Trump's initial weeks in office , said Mark McHargue, the president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau.
Mark McHargue "I think every day that goes by, quite frankly, it feels closer and closer to a trade war versus just potentially disruption," he said Wednesday. "It just feels like everyday there's something going on. And it's hard to know what to do.
"I've talked to producers over the last couple of weeks, and they're just frustrated. Because how do we make business decisions when, really, both our inputs are wildly going up and down and price, and what we have to sell is going up and down in price? And so I think there's just a growing frustration." Agriculture is the state's largest single industry and Nebraska ranks fifth in the nation in ag exports, shipping $10 billion worth of ag products abroad in 2022, according to U.
S. Department of Agriculture figures. In 2023, the state exported $1.
75 billion worth of soybeans, $1.59 billion worth of beef products and another $1.46 billion worth of corn, according to USDA data.
Nebraska's top markets abroad including Mexico, Canada and South Korea. But the state exports to EU countries totaled $816 million last year, according to the USDA. And the bloc purchased $246.
38 million worth of Nebraska soybeans and $41.46 million worth of beef and veal in 2023, according to EU data . McHargue, a fourth generation row crop farmer from Central City, said Nebraska producers "have spent significant time" fostering relationships with trading partners with European countries that are poised to be strained by the escalating trade fight.
He also noted that farmers and ranchers will face the effects of tariffs not only on agricultural exports, but on steel and aluminum imports imposed by Trump and used in ag inputs, such as machinery and center pivots. Though U.S.
tariffs on such imports are only now taking effect and the EU's tariffs are still weeks away from implementation, McHargue said "it appears that we're going the wrong direction." Nebraska's congressional delegation — all five members of which are Republicans who were endorsed by the Farm Bureau's PAC last year — has offered little public pushback on Trump's tariff threats , instead largely signaling faith in the president's approach to trade. In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, hours after the EU signaled its plans to target the U.
S. agriculture industry with new tariffs, Sen. Pete Ricketts continued to defend the president's attempt to "level the playing field for everybody in the United States.
" Ricketts "And I would just point to the success that President Trump had when he was dealing with China in his first term," Ricketts said. "We had to go through some short-term pain there, but ultimately, President Trump got China to agree to buy more of our agricultural products." "He was successful in his first term," he added.
"We're going to have to give him the opportunity to again be successful in his second term and make sure that countries are treating us fairly." McHargue said members of the Farm Bureau are broadly supportive of the Trump administration's attempts to increase border security and "rectify some unfair trade agreements or trade imbalances" through his trade policies. "We appreciate that, but we struggle to know the end, right?" McHargue said.
"I mean, what's the purpose, and how do we know when we're going to get there and what's going to happen when we get there?" Lincoln zoo returns; Nebraska library bill; Nebraska lands impact WR Top Journal Star photos for March 2025 (From left) Oakland-Craig's Sabrina Rost (11), Oakland-Craig's Carolyn Magnusson (13) and Oakland-Craig's Brinley Burton (15) celebrate winning the Class C-2 state championship game on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Rob Andersen (left) helps Keiron Taylor put on a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Personal Protective Equipment suit during HazMat inventory and training on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, at the Nebraska Task Force One Warehouse in Lincoln.
Waverly's Mia Jackson (left) protects the ball as York’s Kinslee Kern attempts to steal it from her on Thursday, March 6, 2025, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Dorchester's Mackenzie Yager (23) and Falls City Sacred Heart's Alise Reschke (11) battle for the ball during the Class D-2 state championship game on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Lincoln Christian team celebrates after defeating Milford during the Class C-1 state championship game Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
A baby goat mills around the Lincoln Children's Zoo on Monday. Goats have returned to the zoo's feeding space after leaving in September 2023. Milford players celebrate the win over Minden during a Class C-1 semifinal state basketball tournament game on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or [email protected] . On Twitter @andrewwegley Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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