U.S. Agricultural Trade Deficit Worst It's Ever Been

U.S. agricultural trade debt from January to April was $19.7 billion, the largest ever recorded.

Washington D.C. – The U.S. agricultural trade deficit is growing rapidly. The debt from January to April of 2025 was measured at $19.7 billion, the largest ever recorded for the first four months of a year. For decades the U.S. was known for exporting far more agricultural products than it imported, but that trend is rapidly reversing. The U.S. agriculture industry is clearly struggling, especially here in Iowa.

This news could not have come at a worse time. Iowa’s economy was recently ranked as the worst out of every state in the union, and a different study by the Bureau of Economic Analysis found Iowa ranked 49th in economic growth in 2024 and 48th in personal income growth. If that wasn’t enough, Iowa is due to come under even more pressure: 238 million dollars worth of economic activity is under threat because of our state’s clean energy tax credits being removed from the Republican budget bill.

“Farmers don’t like to be bailed out by the government as part of a tariff scheme. They want to be able to sell their goods and earn a decent living,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. “It’s time for Iowa’s representatives in Congress to stand up to Donald Trump, end his disastrous trade policies, and get to work on a new farm bill. Our farmers deserve leadership that will end this nonsense and let them make a living doing what they do best - feeding the world.”