Ag Policy Blog

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who was Kamala Harris' running mate in 2024, presented opposing views on President Trump's tariff regime on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

Rollins, who appeared from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, vigorously defended the tariffs Trump announced Wednesday, but she also said she is working with appropriators to make sure "we have the funds" to pay farmers if export income goes down. That statement appeared to be an acknowledgment that Congress may need to replenish the Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA's line of credit at the Treasury.

She noted that when Trump's tariffs in his first administration resulted in decreased agricultural exports, then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue "put together a fund to make farmers whole."

Rollins said Trump's tariffs are part of "a new American order" and that Americans "live under" the tariffs of China and other countries.

She also said the European Union is using "fake science" to keep out U.S. pork and that EU unwillingness to import beef from hormone-treated cattle is "absolute bull."

When Jake Tapper, the host of the show, asked her if the tariffs are permanent or subject to negotiation, Rollins did not answer directly but said Trump "is the ultimate dealmaker."

Rollins said that she had "heard from some" foreign officials who want to negotiate about the tariffs, in addition to the calls to Trump and "probably" Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Tapper said the Trump administration is presenting "a Pollyannish" view of the situation, a characterization to which Rollins objected.

Tapper also pointed out that the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, has said the basis of the Trump administration's tariff calculation is wrong. Rollins replied that she "came from the think tank world" and that AEI "has never been a friend of the president," and that AEI is wrong.

Rollins said she was not part of the team that determined the tariffs, but as Agriculture secretary had been involved in the discussions, and made sure that key agricultural inputs including potash and fertilizer were exempted.

Walz, the next guest on the program, said that Rollins is "not listening to the agriculture community," and that he is disturbed by the "flippant nature" of the administration's response to concerns about the drop in the stock market since Trump announced the tariffs.

Tapper asked Walz about a statement from the United Auto Workers praising the tariffs that Trump has imposed on imported autos. Walz said that Trump is "not wrong" to impose certain tariffs and the Democrats need to "figure out" how to talk about economic issues.

Walz said that Democrats talk about "food security" when they should say "people are hungry, get them food."

Democrats, Walz said, have gotten "theoretical" and "intellectualized."

Asked if he plants to run for re-election as governor in 2026 or for president in 2028, Walz said he is "kind of inclined" to run for a third term as governor, but will not run for president in 2028.

In a lengthy appearance on MSNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday, White House adviser Peter Navarro said that countries need to reduce their nontariff barriers to American exports including U.S. soybeans and meat in order to please the Trump administration.

The value added tax or VAT in the European Union is one of those nontariff barriers, he said.

Navarro said that reducing or eliminating trade deficits and encouraging manufacturing in the United States are the administration's main goals and that getting tariffs to zero will not solve the problem when countries use nontariff barriers to keep out U.S. products.

He also mentioned the problems that the U.S. shrimp industry faces in competition with Vietnam's shrimp industry.

CNN: "Trump's Agriculture Secretary on Market Meltdown," https://www.cnn.com/…

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

Follow him on social platform X @hagstromreport

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