Congressman Krishnamoorthi Renews Demand for Administration Action as Trump’s Trade War Hammers Illinois Soybean Farmers

TAYLOR RIDGE, IL — This afternoon, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, visited a Taylor Ridge soybean and corn farm to hear directly from Illinois farmers about the devastating impacts of President Trump’s trade war and China’s retaliatory tariffs on their livelihoods, input costs, and local jobs. During today’s stop, hosted by the Bohnsack and VanDaele families, the Congressman toured the farm, discussed this year’s harvest and input prices with local producers, and outlined his recent letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urging immediate, strategic action to protect Illinois agriculture from “the profound damage that President Trump’s trade war is inflicting on Illinois soybean farmers.” In the letter, he also called for urgent steps to mitigate PRC retaliation, stabilize farm income, and rebuild export channels.

“Illinois farmers don’t want aid, they want trade,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “Yet it’s farmers paying the price for President Trump’s reckless, go-it-alone trade war that has wiped out our largest export market. Farmers don’t want one-time bailouts; they want markets, certainty, and a level playing field. I’m pressing the Trump Administration to open new export channels, strengthen income and risk management tools, and reaffirm that America’s farmers will not be sacrificed for President Trump’s geopolitical maneuvering.”

What Congressman Krishnamoorthi is pushing for

• Diversify and expand export markets in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
• Stabilize farm income through targeted support, strengthened crop-insurance and revenue-protection tools, and access to low-interest financing to bridge the current shock.
• Restore trust in U.S. trade reliability and secure a resolution that reopens durable market access for U.S. soybeans without undercutting farmers.

By the numbers

• Illinois produces 15% of all U.S. soybeans, generating about $7 billion in annual economic activity and supporting tens of thousands of jobs statewide.
• In 2024, Illinois exported $1.4 billion in soybeans to China; in 2025, that figure fell to zero after retaliatory tariffs.
• Foreign competitors, including Brazil and Argentina, have moved to lock in long-term supply contracts with China, threatening to permanently displace U.S. market share.