Trump has promised to lift the yoke of regulatory burden off farmers

TRUMP:  Trump has promised to lift the yoke of regulatory burden off farmers, largely by retracting rules at EPA such as the waters of the U.S. rule in the Clean Water Act. Trump's agricultural advisers during the campaign have also talked about reducing regulatory controls under the Bureau of Land Management and with the Endangered Species Act. Trump also plans to scrap all Obama administration regulations on climate change and energy production. Trump has argued his administration would concentrate on "energy dominance as a strategic economic and foreign policy goal." With that, he has called for removing regulators that are obstacles to energy exploration. Yet, the cornerstone of Trump's campaign was his immigration agenda, which resonated early with GOP primary voters as Trump promised to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Immigration enforcement will be much tighter under a Trump administration. That means farmers who rely on immigrant labor are going to have to ensure those workers are in the country legally under a Trump administration. He has called for tougher enforcement crackdowns and wants to triple the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers around the country. Further, Trump wants to expand the federal E-Verify program, which has largely exempted farmers in the past. One of biggest impacts a Trump administration might have on farmers is in changes to the tax code. Trump has promised to end the estate tax, but his plan also calls for a capital gains tax on assets valued over $10 million, though Trump's website states small businesses and family farms would be exempted. Trump's tax plan, if enacted, would reduce the tax code from seven brackets to three with a top tax rate at 33% for incomes of more than $225,000. Corporate tax rates would be lowered to 15%. Trade will be an area where a Trump administration may clash the most with farmers and many business people. Trump opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership and has said he would withdraw the U.S. from the deal, which has not yet been ratified. Trump also has called for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, though both Canada and Mexico have balked at such a request. Trump also has said his administration would aggressively pursue trade cases against China. That means a Trump administration would push to reset the trade dynamics with the country's three largest destinations for U.S. ag exports. It is still possible Congress and Obama could get a TPP deal approved in a lame-duck session of Congress, but that is doubtful. Trump has talked little about the farm bill and would be expected to leave a lot of that work to Congress. His advisers, as well as at least some members of Congress, have discussed starting the process of writing a new farm bill earlier than expected because of low commodity prices. That, however, could clash with congressional expectations of reducing government spending.