| Arizona farmers and agricultural leaders are speaking out about the pain Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane’s reckless tariffs are causing.
REMINDER: Ciscomani and Crane repeatedly voted to rubber-stamp Trump’s cost-spiking tariffs – including tariffs on Arizona’s top trading partners.
 During a roundtable discussion, Arizonans slammed the tariffs for raising fertilizer prices for farmers, spiking costs for Arizona families, and disrupting competition in the dairy sector. As a fourth-generation dairy farmer put it: “Tariffs hurt the American farmer.”
DCCC Spokesperson Lindsay Reilly:
“Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane are backing Trump’s reckless tariffs no matter the cost to Arizona farmers. Their broken promises to lower costs will cost them their seats in November.”
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KJZZ: ‘Tariffs hurt the American farmer’: Arizona agricultural leaders weigh in on Trump trade policies
- The Trump administration has pitched its trade policy as a win for farmers and ranchers, but representatives from Arizona’s agricultural industry say the president’s tariffs and attacks on free trade are hurting, not helping, them.
- “Tariffs hurt the American farmer,” said Jim Boyle, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, who is a board member for the Arizona Farm Bureau and United Dairymen of Arizona.
- He said that around 25% of dairy products produced by United Dairymen of Arizona members are sent out of the country, with Mexico taking in about 65% of those exports.
- And imports from Mexico ensure that Arizona shoppers can find a variety of products year-round, said Lance Jungmeyer with the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents the importers that bring in that produce.
- He pointed to a freeze in Florida this year that caused $3 billion in losses to that state, which usually exports a variety of fruits and vegetables to Arizona.
- “Florida had freezes and they couldn’t produce all of the crops that we weren’t getting from Mexico anymore because of the tariffs, but that raised prices for everyone,” Jungmeyer said.
- Paul Brierley, director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said the cost of fertilizers is another major variable that affects food prices in the U.S.
- Danny Seiden, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, was especially critical of the administration’s tariff policies as he moderated the roundtable.
- “A lot of times we’re being told they’re doing this for farmers,” he said. “They’re not,” an Arizona corn soybean farmer in the crowd responded.
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