Farm bankruptcies rose sharply from 2024 to 2025. That was partly due to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, which triggered Chinese retaliation and harmed U.S. export markets. Capitol News Illinois reports:
Family farm bankruptcies surged 46% nationwide in 2025. In the Midwest, filings jumped 70%. In Illinois, they rose 55%…
In 2025, U.S. soybean production totaled 4.26 billion bushels, with the average yield per acre estimated at a record high 53.0 bushels per acre. Illinois alone harvested more than 639 million bushels in 2025.
Then, in February 2025, the U.S. imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese products. And China – once the world’s largest buyer of U.S. soybeans – stopped purchasing U.S. crops. Last September marked the first month since 2018 that imports from the U.S. fell to zero.
Bankruptcies have risen even more in 2026, due to the Iran war, which increased the cost of diesel fuel and fertilizer that farmers need to grow crops. Farm bankruptcies are at a 6-year high in 2026.
Tariffs imposed by Trump on raw materials harmed American manufacturing. In December, the U.S. factory sector shrank for the 10th straight month. Economists say tariffs on aluminum and steel wipe out more U.S. jobs than they save, by increasing the costs of manufacturers who make things out of aluminum and steel.
In December, “Trump tariffs” were “blamed as bankruptcies reach 15-year peak,” reported The Independent:
- Corporate bankruptcies in the US soared to a 15-year high in 2025, with 717 companies filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 between January and November.
- The figures marked a 14 per cent increase from the previous year.
- This surge, the highest since 2010, is largely attributed to inflation, high interest rates, and President Donald Trump’s trade policies, particularly tariffs that have increased costs and hampered supply chains.
- The increase in filings was most notable among industrials, including construction, manufacturing, and transportation firms, as well as consumer-oriented companies offering discretionary products or services.
- Economists note a contradiction in the US economy, where strong overall growth (4.3 per cent GDP) is not evenly distributed, with many businesses struggling under the strain of tariffs and other expenses.
The fact that bankruptcies rose more among industrial firms than the service sector shows tariffs are partly to blame. Tariffs increase costs for industrial firms, because they rely on imported raw materials and components. By contrast, the service sector isn’t affected much by tariffs.
