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President Donald Trump on Monday blamed environmental regulations for high tractor prices, vowing to bring them down as he announced $12 billion in one-time aid for farmers suffering from trade disruptions.
“We’re going to also give the tractor companies, John Deere and all of the companies that make the equipment, we’re going to take off a lot of the environmental restrictions that they have on machinery. It’s ridiculous,” Trump said at a White House roundtable where he announced the aid plan.
Trump offered no other details. Shares of tractor manufacturers fell, with investors perhaps unnerved by Trump targeting equipment prices. Shares of Deere & Co. ended the day with a loss of 1.8%, and had been previously trading near unchanged as investors appeared to react coolly to plans laid out at the company’s investor day event. AGCO shares fell 1%.
The effective tariff rate on tractor imports stands at 16%, according to North Dakota State University’s Agricultural Trade Monitor, up from near 0%.
Philippines bans pork from Spain, Taiwan
The Philippines put a temporary ban on imports of pigs and pork products from Spain and Taiwan after outbreaks of African swine fever in both countries, Reuters reported.
Spain late last month confirmed the presence of ASF cases in wild boars, resulting in temporary bans on imports from several countries. Spain is the European Union’s largest pork exporter. The outbreak has been a supportive factor for U.S. lean-hog futures.