This was so helpful!

Disappointing

As an agricultural economist, I appreciate your perspective and your optimism. We definitely need more information from the government before we know the future of prices. In theory, taxes are not supposed to impact consumer welfare because tax profits are supposed to be distributed back to consumers (via public goods). However, we know that in practice, this isn’t true, due to government inefficiency and others. Trump is mostly using tariffs to punish Canada and Mexico for “illegal immigration and poisonous fentanyl,” outlined by whitehouse.gov. Important note about the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, that under the Special column of Rates of Duty, it has special exceptions like free trade agreements like USMCA or ATPA. Colombia, denoted by CO, is one of the main floral exporters for us making almost 80% of our imports and they have free trade protections. Unless Trump will use an executive order to get rid of free Trade with Colombia, then these tariffs will not affect floral demand. It will only increase our input prices, if we source from Canada, Mexico, or China (so definitely not ranunculus corms). However, I don’t want to be naive. I always look at history for answers. Blanket tariffs that trump is proposing at high levels of 25 percent are similar to levels of the Smoot Hawley Tariff of 1930. Arguably one of the main reasons why we went into a depression. Which is why I’m scared of of the magnitude of these tariffs.

14. You definitely have to be dialed in for the season of life you are in with littles and homeschooling as well as your weekly market sales. I am growing more than 50 different varieties but I am growing for bespoke wedding florals for our wedding venue. I need smaller amounts of different flowers to harvest to make arrangements for a variety of wedding visions and palettes. I still enjoy your videos and learn so much. Thank you.

🛑 as i put in plug orders yesterday 🙈 although i think im good-ish. I will say I'm a perennial girl though. And I have a rose garden which is done in a landscape style. My guess is that it'll be more for my personal enjoyment though.

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This was such a great information video. Thanks.

Did they bloom with tulips?

What?

Did the Voyage branch like the Echo?

Tariff policy is going to be changing regularly throughout the next 4 years. Please don’t badger us with comment updates as if we are the State Dept. This video is offering a balanced tariff perspective, not a guarantee of what the Admin may choose to do.

Breaking news. Canada just hit back with a 155B tarriff package with plenty of room for it to get bigger.

Thank you for having a nice conversation about a touchy subject. I work for a packaging distribution company and we do have to source some items from China, Mexico and Canada as well as other countries because US manufacturers don't produce what the end customer wants or the minimum order quantity is too high for a smaller or medium size company to meet. We have also seen US manufacturers move their production facilities to Mexico over the last few years closing down US plants. The current 25% China tariff is charged to the importer on record by US customs. Typically if you are a US company importing from overseas you are going to be the one to pay the tariff to our government because you will be the importer on record. As a distributor we pay the tariff and we pass on the tariff to our end customer. We have a customer that fills products for Wal-Mart and our end customer may or may not be able to pass the tariff on to Walmart and other retailers depending on the agreement they have with the retailers. Another issue we have seen in the packaging industry is China and India "dumping" cheap glass bottles into the US predominantly wine and liquor bottles. Our supply chain director has testified before the US Congress as an expert in the industry as a result of a US glass mfg bringing a law suit to the government to prompt the government to tariff the Chinese and Indian glass imports so US mfgs can compete. This is all very complicated but if the plan is to generate business for US mfgs, then the tariff is a deterant to sourcing products from overseas. I do think we will see prices increase on imported items until the US can beef up our manufacturing in certain industries and start making things ourselves instead of relying on foreign sources. I agree with your example of buying reusable trays from Bootstrap Farmer instead of cheap disposable trays from overseas. I am a customer of Bootstrap Farmer and love their products. They are well made and should last a long time if taken care of.

I agree with you that patience, calmness and common sense are needed...and decisions as to whether to apply tariffs should be made with those same things (patience, common sense, etc). The US has negotiated trade deals with many countries including Canada and Mexico recently (some signed with the last Trump administration) and it is a waste of time to redo those as those took years to do. Speaking from experience, tariffs will result in less trade and result in businesses closing. This happened in Canada where sawmills closed even after softwood tariffs (which were applied for a while until the international courts said they needed to be removed-but the damage was done). The costs will be passed on to those buying the product and work their way through the consumer change as it already does. We should all be buying local (for me that is buying Canadian) when we can or think if it is something we really need. You are correct that many things have tariffs already and some are high. Ultimately the consumer will pay. Yes making things locally is better for many reasons, but it will cost more (because the costs to make things differ by country and cost of living). With farming, at least some of it, you can start to collect your own seeds.

14

I live in the suburbs of a city in zone 5 Wisconsin and I have been selling vegetables at a farm gate type stand and was thinking of expanding into cut flowers and my question would be since I am not focused on flowers I will have a strange and Broad collection at least at first so I'm wondering if anybody has ever tried to sell flowers individually and let the purchaser create their own bouquet and how much does it work out to be per flower when you are making your bouquets? Perhaps you answer the price question later in the video, I'm only a quarter of the way through it at this time.

🛑just getting started, great advice.

This " negotiation tool" argument is exhaustively boring at this point. Its like arguing a crescent wrench can be used as a hammer. Yeah i can use a crescent wrench as hammer, but its a terrible hammer. Tariffs are a terrible negotiating tool. And yes. There are existing targeted tariffs. But there is an enormously obvious difference between targeted tariffs and blanket tariffs on all US imports! And you can count on retalitory tariffs, which means decreased US exports. You really believe the US is going to bring manufacturing back? Are we going to produce all our own raw materials, too? No. The raw materials needed for manufacturing will need to be imported. And guess what. It will be tariffed. Which means higher cost of manufacturing. Second, US labor costs are expontentially higher. Again, increases cost. Whos going to work these new manufacturing jobs? Unemployment is at 4.x%, and we are deporting 22 million workers supposedly. So higher cost of raw material, higher cost of labor, labor shortage AND retalitory tariffs on US exports. Whos going buy our outrageously expensive goods? US consumers in a recession? Lastly. 90% of tariff revenue from his first term went toward bailing out farmers because it crippled US agriculture. They got a 32 billion dollar bailout because it FAILED.

LOL!!!!!

You gained me…

🛑 Very helpful information! Thank you!

As someone just beginning flower farming for the second year I appreciate your view point on this situation. It was something that had been on my mind. At the end of the day I agree we all need to be optimistic and kind. Things will be what they will be and we each get to choose how to address that in our own personal situations and should be supporting and cheering on each other.

Your flowers are lovely

If I become a member in Patreon, will the PDF’s in your shop be included in that or will they still be separate purchases?

Fear. False Evidence Appearing Real.

In general people just want cheap goods. Personally I’d rather pay a bit more and know there’s a factory town in business. The quality is poor also, if I need an item I buy an old one on EBay. The flower imports have destroyed an entire industry in America. I’d much rather pay twice as much and feel good about my beautiful local flowers.

Thanks you guys. Great video as always!

Thank you for sharing your insights- i love your videos 🛑

I try to reuse whatever and whenever I can

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I would rather have tariffs over taxes. I save my open pollinated seeds yearly ♻️.

Hello from Joe The Grower in NY

🛑 Loved this video…. I’m going to do an assessment of my grow list this evening, based on your suggestions!

I’m still here!!!!

Thanks for your video ♻️

I think the tariff is a great idea! I always hear flowers farmers say they can’t compete with grocery store bouquets that come from these countries!!!!

"In 1991 congress passed the Andean Trade Preference Act eliminating trade tariffs on flowers and other products from Bolivia, Columbia, Equador, and Peru and a few other countries. This allowed roses and many other cut flowers and foliage to be imported into the US cheaper than farms here in the US could grow them for. The result was that in the last 30 years, 58% of flower farms have gone out of business in the US. 58%…yeah…that’s a lot!!" This is quote from my blog post for several years ago. These numbers are from the ASCFG..so tariffs do have an effect on the flower farming industry... Maybe we can get back to American Grown Flowers after all. Thanks for the information and the video. I think there is a lot of fear based information about there and appreciate a more balance approach to this topic.

I think you missed the whole demand side of the equation. If you customer's finances are negatively impacted by price increases, job losses, higher drug prices, or even just the fear of this, they will change buying behavior. Flowers are a luxury, non-essential, disposable item. Time will tell if your 2025 sales will drop or rise this year. On the supply side, you are correct that you have already bought the seeds and supplies, and the costs are already spent. It is best to continue with your current sales plan and hope for good things. I echo your request to be kind--and request your family be kind and cognizant of neighbors who are struggling and afraid. Their concerns are real, much is out of their control and they are not catastrophizing. More real than the concerns of a side-job flower stand. Sincerely-- Another very blessed white lady US citizen homeowner who likes flowers too.

Maybe roses from Colombia. But will harm florists more than flower growers.

“Or gain a lot” haha I love you guys 😂❤

Am I the only Canadian that gets it? If I were American you better believe I'd be celebrating much of what is going down, and terrified by other things. But, saying that someone is at fault for voting for someone is at fault for everything they do is ridiculous. You knew you'd get backlash for this, and did it anyway. I respect that, so much! I also admire your focus on "what can we directly control" position. Is there a more positive or optimistic point of view than that?! I think not! Much respect Alex and husband!

While I personally disagree pretty vehemently with Trump on most issues, I appreciated this video and your breaking down what this may actually look like - getting beyond simplistic headlines. Thanks!

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I really appreciate your videos on flower farming and marketing your flower stand. They have been incredibly helpful. Before I comment on this particular video though could you please be more clear on how you would like us to disagree without being labeled “unkind”? Your dismissal of some possible outcomes as things that “won’t happen” is concerning.

Buy American!!

I assume a fair number of your subscribers are “foreigners” - to you! To us - you are the foreigners by definition- try not to alienate your allies

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I almost skipped this video- bc I just respect you two so much and didn’t want to be let down… 😆🫣 but thankfully that didn’t happen! Yay 🎉 You both are so knowledgeable and not only made some really great points but also helped ease a few of my fears with the future. While being very tactful and respectful of everyone. Great job 👏🏼♻️

Interesting video and really well done. Thank you. On a side note, I was under the impression that Ecuador and Columbias’ favored status for cut flowers was a policy decision to give those farmers a crop to grow rather than drugs. Not that I am opposed to buying American-I live in Michigan, after all. 😀

recycle