NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Some Tennessee farmers and business owners told News 2 that President Trump’s new tariffs could cost them billions. On Thursday, community members gathered at Ole Smokey Distillery to discuss their concerns and explain how these extra taxes could impact Tennesseans.
“We are talking big money,” Dr. Steven Livingston, an MTSU Professor of Political Science and International Relations, said.
On Tuesday, President Trump’s 25% tax on Mexican and Canadian goods and a 20% tariff on Chinese goods started. However, on Thursday, tariffs with Mexico were postponed for a month following a conversation with the Mexican president. Some Canadian tariffs have also been paused.
“They are going to take American products off the shelves,” CEO of Ole Smoky Distillery, J. Robert Hall, said. “Our sales to Canada evaporated on Tuesday.”
Still, some Nashville farmers, distillers, contractors and business owners have braced for the tariffs’ full impact.
“What happens on April 2nd?” Brian Kuehl, Executive Director of Farmers for Free Trade, asked. “How do we make planning decisions based on that kind of market uncertainty?”
Farmers for Free Trade estimated Tennessee will pay over $8 billion more in tariffs.
“We are talking about going from 0 to 25%,” Livingston said.
A report from Farmers for Free Trade said the across-the-board tariff on Mexican imports would have added an estimated $3.7 billion in new taxes based on last year’s data.
“Mexico is our largest market for both corn and pork,” said the owner and CEO of Tosh Farms, Jimmy Tosh.
Goods purchased from China accounted for 12% of Tennessee’s total imports in 2024, according to Farmers for Free Trade. The new taxes could cost Tennesseans $2.6 billion in taxes.
Canada was Tennessee’s seventh largest source of imports last year, but the new tariffs would cost $1.4 billion annually or about $4 million per day. Farmers and distillers are worried about rising costs for things like corn and wheat.
“Construction companies — price of lumber goes up, price of steel goes up,” Kuehl said. “[For] distilleries, they can’t sell their product overseas because of retaliatory tariffs.”
Tosh, a hog farmer from Henry County, Tennessee, told News 2 that the rising price of exported feed and fertilizer would only hinder efforts to fill profit margins.
“I’ve had four farmers in our neighborhood that had to sell out this year,” Tosh added. “This could move us from a recession into a depression on the crop side.”
Farmers for Free Trade is now focused on educating the public about the full impact of these tariffs on farmers, businesses and consumers.
“Number one: we want folks to understand tariffs are taxes,” Kuehl said. “Number two: we hope they understand how much damage can be done to Tennessee businesses.”
