UNDATED (WJON News) -- President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico were expected to begin Tuesday.

Update: As of Monday morning, the 25 percent tariff on Mexico has been put on hold for a month.

Update: As of Monday afternoon, the 25 percent tariff on Canada has also been put on hold for a month.  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted an update on X.

Fluence Media Political Analyst Blois Olson says Minnesota's farmers could be the first to see the effects of a trade war with our nation's biggest trading partners.

Our agriculture community is going to get hit hard.  Canada is one of our largest trading partners.  Manufacturing may have some issues.  And, I think we can look at energy prices.  Minnesota gets energy from Canada.  If there's a tariff on Canadian energy, which the president has promised, that means energy costs in Minnesota could go up.

Olson says we are still in a wait-and-see period but we should know sooner rather than later how a trade war will impact Minnesotans' pocketbooks.

KRFO-AM logo
Get our free mobile app

He says companies and organizations will likely start sending messages to consumers in the coming days on what it all means for them.

According to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota exports to Canada surged by 49% and by 37% to Mexico since 2019, driving overall export growth. Nearly half of Minnesota exports went to Canada and Mexico in 2023, up from about a third in 2019.

Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
loading...

Minnesota’s top three imported goods from Canada are the same as its top exported products -- minerals, fuel, oil ($9,000 M), vehicles ($437 M), and machinery ($630 M). This indicates that items often cross borders multiple times throughout the production process rather than only the transport of finished goods.

Similar trends are seen in imports from Mexico. Machinery ($808 M) and electrical machinery ($688 M) are the two top imports, followed by optic and medical ($558 M) which have a strong presence in the state.

READ RELATED ARTICLES

LOOKS: Things You'd Find in Your Grandpa's Garage

Adventures were plentiful in the domain of your family's patriarch who saw no use for rules - unless he was the one making them. From rusty tools to a stack of filthy magazines, Grandpa's garage was a land of mystery and danger.

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz