CropLife Retail Week Special Edition: Supreme Court Tariffs Showdown
November 7, 2025 Fanwood Chemical’s Jim DeLisi joins Retail Week to unpack how 2025 tariffs hit exports, input costs, and what the November 5 Supreme Court arguments could mean.
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*Below is a partial and edited transcript:
Eric Sfiligoj:
Hello, everyone. Welcome to a special edition of CropLife Retail Week. I’m Eric Sfiligoj, editor of CropLife and CropLife IRON. Joining me for this edition is a special guest, Jim DeLisi from Fanwood Chemical. Jim, welcome to the program.
Jim DeLisi:
Nice to be with you, Eric.
Eric Sfiligoj:
It’s been an interesting couple of months. Before we get into that, could you give our viewers who may not know you a little background on yourself and what you do in the agricultural marketplace?
Jim DeLisi:
Sure. I’ve been involved in the chemical industry for almost 50 years, heavily focused on trade and trade affairs on behalf of the chemical industry. I’m currently chairman of ITAC 3 — the Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Health Science Products and Services. I’m also on the ABG Advisory Board and involved with the CFDA Trade Committee.
Our business deals with tracking imports and exports of agrochemicals in the United States and several other countries. So, we’re deeply involved in both trade policy and the practical realities of what’s happening on the ground.
Eric Sfiligoj:
Okay, and you mentioned ABG — that’s AgriBusiness Global, a sister publication to CropLife. I know ABG holds an annual Trade Summit each summer, and you’re a regular speaker at that event, correct?
Jim DeLisi:
Yes, I’ve spoken there for as many as ten years on current trade issues impacting the agrochemical industry. It’s a wonderful conference where everyone in the industry meets, and it’s been very important for us.
Eric Sfiligoj:
Great. The reason I wanted to have you on this edition of CropLife Retail Week is to talk about tariffs, which have been in the news quite a bit. Looking at the current situation in 2025, what has been the impact on the agricultural community?
Jim DeLisi:
It’s been significant — on both the input and output sides. From the output side, there have been major tariffs on U.S. exports to China, which have hurt farmers’ ability to prosper. The recent arrangement between President Trump and China has allowed for the first soybean exports of the year — about 12 million metric tons — which is less than half of normal volumes.
On the input side, tariffs have affected the prices of crop protection chemicals. Many active ingredients are only available from China or India. When tariffs are 10–20%, the per-acre cost isn’t drastically affected, but at 60% it becomes a big issue. Agronomists have been key this crop year, helping farmers make the most economical decisions.
Eric Sfiligoj:
Right. In our upcoming CropLife 100 report, tariffs ranked as the second-biggest concern among ag retailers — 12% said tariffs were a major hurdle to profitability going into 2026. Also, on November 5th, there were oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the tariff issue. Can you explain how we got to this point and what happened during those arguments?
Jim DeLisi:
I listened to much of the 2.5-hour Supreme Court session. The justices seemed skeptical of the statute the president used to impose these tariffs. Recent Chinese actions on rare earth metals didn’t help — they imposed export restrictions that allowed them to control global access. President Trump responded with the threat of 100% tariffs to counter that move.
Some of the president’s tariff actions, like those involving Brazil or Canada, have been questionable. For example, the so-called “reciprocal” tariff on Brazil was 10%, but the total became 50% because of an internal Brazilian tariff. Similarly, an extra 10% was imposed on Canada following an advertising dispute — not a traditional trade issue.
The Court is considering whether the statute under the IPR War Act gives the president authority to impose tariffs as he chooses. Some tariffs are odd — for instance, Switzerland faces a 39% reciprocal tariff, even though several key ag chemicals come from there. Formulated products from Europe have a 15% tariff, but in other countries, tariffs are “stacked,” raising totals even higher.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Supreme Court decides. Betting markets suggest less than a 27% chance that the president will prevail.
Eric Sfiligoj:
That’s fascinating. So if the president loses, what happens next?
Jim DeLisi:
If the Supreme Court rules against the tariffs, refunds are likely. There’s already a class action case waiting that would require repayment of billions of dollars. How that’s handled will be very interesting — it could be chaotic.
Eric Sfiligoj:
Yes, uncertainty has definitely been the theme of 2025 across every sector. But just to play devil’s advocate — if the president wins, what happens then?
Jim DeLisi:
If he wins, he’ll continue using these tariff powers. Right now, the total tariff on a formulated agrochemical from China is 51.5%. From India, it’s 56.5%, which actually discourages business with India.
For example, the tariff on dicamba from China is 34%, but 56.5% from India. So, ironically, there are disincentives to decoupling from China. However, companies are finding creative workarounds — sourcing materials from free trade partners like Guatemala, Colombia, Canada, or Mexico under USMCA.
If the president wins, we’ll see more of these workarounds, done carefully to comply with EPA rules. If he loses, it’ll be equally fascinating — tariffs are central to his platform, and he’ll look for other, though more complicated, ways to impose them.
Eric Sfiligoj:
Understood. Well, Jim, I really appreciate you explaining all of this for our viewers. As you mentioned, we should get a decision around mid-December. Once that happens, we’ll have you back to discuss the outcome. Thank you very much for your time today.
Jim DeLisi:
Delighted to do it, Eric. Have a great day and enjoy the conference.
Eric Sfiligoj:
Thank you, Jim. And to our viewers, thank you for joining us for this special edition of CropLife Retail Week. On behalf of myself and everyone at the CropLife Media Group, we’ll see you again next week.
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