WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China is concerning those in the state’s biggest industry, food and agriculture, which suffered from the previous trade war with China in 2018.

Agriculture accounts for one in eight workers in Ohio and $124 billion in business each year, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Besides fears that tariffs could raise prices on products like potash, a fertilizer that is largely imported from Canada, agriculture industry leaders said exports were a bigger issue for farmers.

“As much of a concern as we're hearing about trade and what might happen to products we bring in from those countries, there's a greater concern in the Ag sector for what we ship out to those countries,” said Ty Higgins, spokesperson for the Ohio Farm Bureau.

China has long been the top export market for soybeans, which are Ohio’s top-produced crop.

When Trump imposed tariffs on China in 2018, it launched a trade war that the USDA estimated cost the U.S. $19.2 billion in soybean exports. In the years since, China began importing a larger percentage of its soybeans from other countries, notably Brazil and Argentina.

Ohio soybean exports never recovered, sinking 60% from 2019 to 2023.

Those in the agriculture industry are concerned that trend could continue.

“When the farmer does well, the state does well. When the farmer struggles, as we have over the last couple of years. It hurts our state's bottom line as well,” said Higgins.

Higgins said he was encouraged by deals announced Monday that tariffs on Mexico and Canada will be paused for a month for negotiations. He said he hoped the administration could also work out a deal with China to avoid another trade war.

“We understand at Ohio Farm Bureau what the administration is trying to accomplish in the long term: strengthening and solidifying these deals with our largest trading partners,” Higgins said. “We just need to be sure the short-term impacts aren't harmful to farmers here in Ohio. That's why negotiating is so important.”

China has said it would take “necessary countermeasures” to the tariffs.