Republicans in Congress feel rattled about what they say is the lack of a clear outcome or exit strategy for President Trump’s trade war, which they fear will close lucrative markets for wheat, corn, soybeans, pork and other products for their farmers at home.
GOP senators from states such as Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota are bracing for the next phase in Trump’s escalating trade war, which they fear will be a wave of retaliatory tariffs that will hit Americans hard.
Republican lawmakers are warning that senior Trump officials need to have a plan in place to respond to the growing economic turmoil, and the possibility that countries could respond by slapping steep tariffs on American exporters before agreeing to any concessions with the United States.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a top political target of Democrats in 2026, said farmers in his state are “very concerned” about how Trump’s trade war may play out, and for how long.
“We’re already hearing threats about curbing imports,” he said of threats from trading partners to source agricultural products from other countries.
“Now we know pork’s going to be 34 percent more expensive” in China, he said, referring to the 34 percent tariff Trump has imposed on that country, which imports billions of dollars’ worth of American soybeans, wheat, corn, beef and pork.
Trump on Monday, in response to China, said he would impose another 50 percent tariff on that country’s exports.
Tillis warned that if the Trump administration doesn’t find an off-ramp from the trade war within the next 60 days, it’s going to spell serious economic trouble for 2025.
He predicted that European buyers would shift to African markets that don’t have the same standards as the U.S. food supply.
“Anytime you get into an escalation of trade [barriers], it’s easy to see how the plays are going to be run. The question is do we have a new playbook given the very comprehensive nature of the tariff regimen that’s coming out,” he said.
Tillis is one of seven Republican senators who has signed on to legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, that would dramatically curb Trump’s tariff authority.
The legislation would sunset new tariffs and tariff increases after 60 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution of approval.
It would also provide a pathway for lawmakers to cancel tariffs within 60 days by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Todd Young (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) have also signed on to the bill.
The White House on Monday said Trump would veto the bill if it got to his desk.
Trump’s Office of Management and Budget told senators Monday that the administration “strongly opposes” the Trade Review Act of 2025.
It argued in a statement of administration policy that the legislation would “severely constrain the president’s ability to use authorities long recognized by Congress and upheld by the courts to respond to national emergencies and foreign threats.”
Tillis, who next year faces one of the toughest reelection races of any Republican, told The Hill: “I’m waiting to see what the next step is.”
He said Trump could solve the escalating crisis by announcing “blockbuster trade deals.”
“If we don’t see those relatively soon, then I begin to believe confidence in a well though-out plan may begin to erode,” he warned.
He said if the administration doesn’t show significant progress in the next 60 days, which “puts us at the end next quarter,” it could further erode economic confidence.
“Having a quarter looking this way trending downward is not good momentum coming out of the first six months of a presidency,” he warned.
Moran, the senior Republican senator from Kansas and a member of the Agriculture Committee, said he has “communicated to” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other administration officials “about the real difficulty this puts Kansas farmers in.”
“There’s a lot of faith in the president but that doesn’t pay bills. So there has to be something that solves this problem or we’re going to lose another significant number of producers across the country,” he warned.
GOP senators are also watching the broader economy closer, and hoping the trade war does not lead to a recession.
JPMorganChase on Friday said it expects the U.S. economy to tumble into a recession and for gross domestic product to shrink by 0.3 percent this year.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink on Monday said that many business CEOs think the United States is “probably in a recession right now.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost nearly 10 percent of its value since Trump announced the reciprocal tariffs.
“Unfortunately, it’s what we had expected might happen,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said of the severe downturn in the stock markets.
“We’re hopeful that the White House was prepared for this. If not, that’s not a good sign. If they were prepared for it, then they’ve got to be able to reassure the American people that there’s a path forward, that retirement accounts will be bouncing back. That’s what people want to hear.
“We’re not getting good financial news,” he added.
Rounds noted that commodity prices have dropped in response to Trump’s tariff announcement.
Soybean prices plunged Friday as China placed a new 34 percent tariff on American imports.
“Commodity prices are still low and commodity prices didn’t do anything good today again,” Rounds said Friday, adding that farmers in his state “are concerned about commodity prices” and “want a trade deal.”
North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer (R) said there’s a lot of concern in the Senate Republican Conference about where Trump’s trade war is headed and how much damage it will inflict on the economy.
“They’re like pretty much everybody: ‘We hope he’s right, we hope that the market finds a floor,’” Cramer said of the discussions among GOP senators about the impact of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
Republican senators want to know how long to expect the tariffs to remain in place, and are confused as to whether the tariffs are primarily designed to win leverage in negotiations or are long-term and meant to raise revenue.
“Some people are concerned about getting some clarity. Are these forever? Is this a revenue source or this a strategy to grow our economy and create more equity and parity with other countries? Because the two aren’t the same thing,” Cramer said.
“Are some of these tariffs forever or going to replace an income tax?” he said.
Cramer said a lot of farmers in his state would “like the China thing to get fixed as soon as possible,” given the size of its market for U.S. exports.
“They’re heading into spring season and banks are lending them money. They need some certainty,” he said.
