Amidst escalating rhetoric and threats from President Donald Trump to close the US-Mexico border, National Farmers Union (NFU) today insisted the President avoid such a “disastrous” decision, which would effectively cripple trade with US agriculture’s top trading partner.

NFU President Roger Johnson released the following statement in response to the President’s remarks:

“Without regard for the American family farmer, rural resident or consumer, President Trump is yet again risking essential trade markets and our country’s once-pristine trading reputation. Shutting down the US-Mexico border would be disastrous for trade with our top agricultural trading partner, and the effects would be consistent with the numerous other trade disruptions the President has self-inflicted on our country: lost markets and lower prices for products grown and raised by family farmers and ranchers.

“For two years, President Trump has dug American agriculture into a tremendous hole. We’ve lost markets that took decades to build, and worse yet, we’ve lost our reputation as a reliable trading partner. Threats to close our border worsen this reputation, digging our hole deeper and depressing farm prices for years to come.

“Many American farm families are already in dire financial strain because of a drastic decline in farm prices over the past five years. Unfortunately, the President’s tactless, flailing approach to trade has exacerbated the situation. In order to begin to fill the hole he has singlehandedly dug, he must work to repair relationships, not make them worse."