Column: Tariffs Are Still Costing Northwest Fruit Growers
Thoughts from the Tractor Seat
By Ken Polehn
The Dalles, Ore., May 17, 2025 — When the U.S. government slapped tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum in 2018—25% on steel and 10% on aluminum—it didn’t take long for the blowback to hit American farmers.
China responded almost immediately, placing retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on U.S. agricultural products, including our sweet cherries. India followed suit. And though these measures were aimed at Washington, D.C., the damage landed squarely in rural orchards like mine.
That year, shipments of Northwest cherries to China dropped by more than half. Our fruit—some of the finest in the world—suddenly carried price tags foreign buyers couldn’t justify. The result? Packed pallets sat unsold. Fruit rotted in cold storage. Family farms like mine lost income we couldn’t afford to lose.
Our market isn’t just local—it’s global. Countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, and India used to be key export destinations during our peak summer harvest. But trade wars turned buyers away. Chile and Turkey filled the gap, and we’re still trying to regain trust and shelf space in those markets today.
Winter pear growers didn’t fare much better. Mexico, our top export market for pears, threatened tariffs more than once during NAFTA and USMCA negotiations. Even the uncertainty alone disrupted shipments. Exporters held back, waiting to see if the rules would change. As a result, pears piled up, storage costs rose, and prices fell.
Tariffs were supposed to protect American industries, but they bruised one of the most iconic American ones—family farms. We weren’t just collateral damage; we were ground zero in a policy war we never asked to fight.
If we’re serious about food security and keeping food grown here at home, we need trade policy that lifts farmers up—not one that turns us into bargaining chips. That means listening to growers before launching trade wars. It means valuing the markets we’ve spent decades building. And it means recognizing that when policy punishes the farm gate, the pain ripples through entire rural communities.
While the recent 90-day pause in U.S.-China tariffs has provided a temporary boost to financial markets, its immediate impact on Northwest fruit producers remains limited. Significant retaliatory tariffs persist, such as China's 65% duty on U.S. apples, pears, and cherries, and Canada's 25% tariff on cherries, with potential extensions to apples and pears . These trade barriers continue to restrict access to key export markets, exacerbating challenges for growers already facing labor shortages, rising costs, and climate-related disruptions. For instance, the 2024 pear harvest was the smallest in 40 years due to a severe freeze . While the tariff pause offers a window for negotiation, substantial relief for the region's fruit industry will depend on the resolution of these underlying issues.
About the author
I was born in 1961 into a second-generation farm family in The Dalles. I grew up on a tractor seat, moving irrigation pipe with my sisters before school, and spent my summers picking cherries alongside the children of migrant families who returned year after year. My wife, children, and parents have all worked the same land. I’ve served as county Farm Bureau president, sat on the county fair board, and continue to support 4-H and FFA. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when farmers are squeezed out—not just of business, but of the conversation.
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