Casten Leads 36 House Dems in Urging Trump to End Tariff-Fueled Economic Assault on Soybean Farmers
Washington, D.C. (October 16th, 2025) — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten led 36 House Democrats in a letter to President Donald Trump highlighting the significant negative economic impact of his tariffs on soybean farmers and urging the president to immediately terminate the harmful tariffs.
“Soybeans are the backbone of American agriculture, contributing over $31 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-2024 crop year. In 2024, China purchased more than half of all U.S. soybean exports, amounting to $12.6 billion,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, in response to the tariffs you imposed earlier this year, China levied retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports and has halted all U.S. soybean purchases since May. As a result, American farmers are at risk of becoming collateral damage in your trade war.”
China, the United States’ largest soybean trading partner, has not purchased soybeans since May due to President Trump’s tariffs. China has instead chosen to buy soybeans from Brazil and Argentina. At the same time, President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced that the Administration would provide $20 billion in taxpayer money to bail out Argentina, which further endangers the U.S. soybean industry by providing financial support to a leading American competitor.
In addition to Rep. Casten, the letter was signed by Reps. Alma Adams, Shontel Brown, André Carson, Troy Carter, Emanuel Cleaver, Jim Clyburn, Angie Craig, Danny Davis, Cleo Fields, Bill Foster, Sylvia Garcia, Jonathan Jackson, Marcy Kaptur, Robin Kelly, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Greg Landsman, Sarah McBride, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, Kristen McDonald Rivet, Morgan McGarvey, Kelly Morrison, Jerry Nadler, Ilhan Omar, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Mike Quigley, Jamie Raskin, Brad Schneider, Bobby Scott, Suhas Subramanyam, Eric Swalwell, Bennie Thompson, Lauren Underwood, and Marc Veasey.
Text of the letter can be found here. A copy of the letter can be found here.
Dear President Trump:
We write to strongly urge you to put America’s farmers first by terminating the national emergencies invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which would include eliminating the unconstitutional, country-specific “Liberation Day” tariffs. Your trade policies have significantly impacted U.S. soybean farmers and hurt our nation’s agricultural competitiveness. Furthermore, your Administration’s $20 billion taxpayer-funded bailout for Argentina—one of our leading soybean export competitors—further compounds the pain that our farmers are currently feeling.
Soybeans are the backbone of American agriculture, contributing over $31 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-2024 crop year. In 2024, China purchased more than half of all U.S. soybean exports, amounting to $12.6 billion. However, in response to the tariffs you imposed earlier this year, China levied retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports and has halted all U.S. soybean purchases since May. As a result, American farmers are at risk of becoming collateral damage in your trade war.
It is clear that soybean farmers are already facing significant financial damage and may not be able to survive a prolonged trade dispute with China. Chinese tariffs now make U.S. soybeans 20% more expensive than South American exports. This has led China to turn to other leading soybean exporters, including producers in Argentina and Brazil, which comes at the direct expense of our farmers.
Your September 25, 2025, announcement of tariff-funded relief to farmers through cash payments is a short-term proposal to address financial harm caused by your Administration’s policies, but market assistance does not solve the long-term challenges facing U.S. agriculture. Even if tariff revenues can be utilized, farmers would likely not receive timely assistance, and it would require congressional approval. Your tariffs are expected to continue rippling across the farm economy, shrinking key export markets, squeezing our farmers' revenue, and driving up consumer prices.
Lost soybean sales are only the beginning: this trade war threatens the entire U.S. agriculture sector. As we have seen before, U.S. farmers lost more than $27 billion in agricultural exports between 2018 and 2019 as a result of your Administration’s 2019 trade war with China. While we support tariffs when they are grounded in rigorous research and clear economic data, your unilateral approach has had significant negative consequences.
To provide our farmers with meaningful relief, we strongly urge you to end the national emergencies declared on February 1, 2025, and on April 2, 2025, which would include removing your reciprocal tariffs and other relevant duties.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
###