Bohannan pins John Deere layoffs on tariffs Miller-Meeks backed

Democrats across the country are using President Donald Trump’s unpopular tariff policies against their Republican opponents. In Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, Democratic nominee Christina Bohannan has made tariffs a central part of her argument, saying they have increased costs for farmers and contributed to layoffs at John Deere.

During an Oct. 20 debate with incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Bohannan criticized the administration’s trade policies and their effect on Iowa farmers.

“[Iowans] are paying thousands more in fuel and fertilizer because of the Iran war,” Bohannan said.

Since 2025, Bohannan has argued that tariffs have increased agricultural costs and weakened demand for farm equipment.

Bohannan said “tariffs are causing John Deere to have to lay off workers because when farmers are struggling, they are not going to buy farm equipment” in a November 2025 interview with Radio Iowa.

On her campaign website, Bohannan wrote that the uncertainty from tariffs, trade wars and the Iran War “has reduced demand for farm equipment and other agricultural products and services, resulting in layoffs at the John Deere Bettendorf plant and other local companies and ripple effects throughout Iowa’s rural economy.”

During the debate, Bohannan has also criticized Miller-Meeks’ voting record endorsing the tariffs and the Iran War.

“She has voted eight times for the tariffs that are driving up costs across the board,” Bohannan said during the Oct. 20 debate. “She voted five times for the Iran War, driving up the cost of fuel and fertilizer, including twice casting the deciding vote to prolong the war.”

Miller-Meeks defended her record, pointing to endorsements from the Iowa Farm Bureau and Iowa Corn Growers Association. She also said she introduced legislation to remove a tariff on phosphate fertilizer, which she said would lower farmers’ input costs. 

“I introduced a bill to remove a tariff on phosphate fertilizer, which would reduce input costs, and that was lifted,” said Miller-Meeks, adding, “when tariffs are creating jobs, they’re good. And when tariffs are raising prices, they’re bad.”

This year, Miller-Meeks also voted to reauthorize the federal Farm Bill, which provides financial safety nets for farmers. The bill passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.

Since 2024, John Deere has laid off over 2,000 employees. During its October 2024 layoffs, the company said cuts at three Quad Cities facilities were caused by reduced demand for equipment and a weakening farm economy, according to KWQC.

In an October 2024 statement to WQAD, Miller-Meeks blamed John Deere layoffs on “Biden-Harris administration policies.”

The layoffs continued after Trump returned to office and imposed new tariffs. In August 2025, John Deere announced 238 layoffs, including 71 at its Waterloo foundry. In September 2025, it announced another 101 layoffs in Waterloo and 40 at Des Moines Works in Ankeny.

John Deere attributed the August cuts to “decreased demand and lower order volumes,” Newsweek reported. Argus reported in September 2025 that the company said tariffs contributed to lower demand for its tractors and other farm equipment.

Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% in June 2025, after setting them at 25% that March. On a third-quarter earnings call in August 2025, Josh Beal, John Deere’s director of investor relations, said tariffs were expected to cost the company nearly $600 million pretax that fiscal year, according to Newsweek.

During a May call with investors, a John Deere spokesperson said the company expected about $900 million in net tariff costs for the 2026 fiscal year, according to Iowa Public Radio.

John Deere announced Oct. 30 that it is recalling 275 employees and hiring more than 400, bringing callbacks to about 1,000 since 2024. AgWeb reported that “all of the employees who were previously laid off in Waterloo, the Quad Cities, Ottumwa and Dubuque” have been invited back, while about 125 employees in the Des Moines area remain laid off.

John Deere’s political action committee contributed $10,000 to Miller-Meeks’ 2026 campaign, according to campaign finance records, and a combined $30,000 in donations to Miller-Meeks ’ congressional campaigns since 2022.

In August, United Auto Workers (UAW) members working for John Deere rejected a two-year contract extension. 

The UAW has endorsed Bohannan.

Across labor unions, Bohannan receives strong support. She met with leaders from the Quad City Federation of Labor on Oct. 24 during a canvassing event. “I am fighting for working people. Unions, here in the Quad Cities, are the ones who have built this state and our country,” Bohannan said in an interview with WQAD at the event.

Bohannan has also criticized the consolidation of the agricultural industry, arguing that corporate ownership and a lack of competition have increased costs for family farms.

“The shift from community-oriented family farms to out-of-state corporate ownership — and putting profits over people — has been devastating to Iowa’s farming heritage, our local economy, and our rural communities,” she wrote on her campaign website.

The Bohannan and Miller-Meeks campaigns, John Deere and UAW Local 281, which represents workers at John Deere Davenport Works, did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.