John Deere Spending More on Steel, Selling Less Machinery to Tariff-Strapped Farmers

Trump’s tariffs are also beating up John Deere, which is losing hundreds of millions on tariffed steel:

Tariffs on steel and aluminum have made it more expensive to manufacture equipment, even though John Deere assembles 80 percent of its equipment in the U.S., and only 25 percent of its components are imported, the company reported.

“Tariff costs in the quarter were approximately $200 million, which brings us to roughly $300 million in tariff expense year to date,” Josh Beal, the director of investor relations, told the Wall Street Journal in August.

The company expects another $300 million in tariff costs by the end of the year [Ariana Baio, “Classic American Farm brand John Deere Is Seeing Prices Rise and Profits Drop—and Trump’s Tariffs Are Making Things Worse,” The Independent, 2025.09.09].

…and suffering a 9% decline in sales Q3 and an 18% drop so far this year because the farmers who are getting tariffed out of foreign markets aren’t buying new tractors:

Farmers tend to purchase new equipment when profits are high, which typically coincides with higher crop prices. But right now crop prices are in decline

Trump’s tariffs also appear to be hurting the crop market.

…The slow crop market has pushed American farmers to utilize the same old tractors they own, buy used tractors, or even rent machinery according to the New York Times [Baio, 2025.09.09].

Nothing runs like a Deere… but Deere can’t run well if tariffs drive up costs and dampen demand.