Yeah, we're about to go in for a cabinet meeting, so let me just do one or two.
Secretary, the New World Screwworm battle going on. You wrote a letter to Mexico the other day. Can you let us know; you're trying to fight that pest. How's that going?
Yeah, thank you for that. So the New World Screwworm, the NWS for short, is a scourge that is making its way from Latin America up through Mexico. And if it hits America, it is going to be absolutely devastating to our cattle industry at the top of the list, frankly, to a lot of our industries. And as a lot of you may have seen, on Saturday, I sent a very strongly worded letter to my counterpart in Mexico.
They will not let us land our planes that have the sterile flies on them. This gets a little technical for the AG -- for all the people, but the AG people understand. The sterile flies on the planes that we're trying to land that is what will push that New World Screwworm back into the south of Mexico and into southern Latin America.
We were having all sorts of trouble landing those planes. They wouldn't let us land them. We need to land 44 planes a week, seven days a week to actually have any chance of beating this back. But yesterday and the day before, I talked to my counterpart in Mexico. The commitment is those planes will be able to land and we'll be able to move that back.
But I really appreciate you bringing that up. It's a big deal.
Why are sugar tariffs going to be in place? Are those effective immediately and how much do you expect those to [Inaudible]
Everything currently is on the table. We're certainly, looking as the president's vision has been, to realign the American economy. Agriculture is obviously on the table, whether it's sugar or wheat or corn or pork or beef, whatever it is. We have been treated so poorly by the tariff regime of other countries around the world, that this president's vision of realigning that not only will help make our American economy great again, but will also help our American ag producers move into a new era of prosperity.
Sugar, we are talking and to be determined what that looks like. Yes, sir.
What are you hearing from farmers right now on the front lines of this trade war?
Well and I've got to go, so this will be the final question. So thank you. There is no doubt that our farmers are facing perhaps in decades, the most uncertain time. It isn't just the trade renegotiation that's happening right now. It's also the last administration where we lost -- we went from a $0 trade deficit when Trump one left, when we left the last West Wing four years ago to an almost $50 billion deficit.
Meaning that's $50 billion less of our ag goods that moved out into the world over the last four years. You combine that with an inflation of the cost of inputs of almost 30 percent for our farmers and our ranchers. I think it hit all Americans, but for our ag producers, it's just been really, really consequential.
So you combine that with a lot of other circumstances that are happening, while the president is renegotiating, these farmers for the most part are with him. They voted for him in the 80 to 85 percent in 2024. In 2020, it was just below that. In 2016, it was just a little bit below that. So even as the president over the last decade has over and over again said tariffs are part of my toolkit, along with deregulation, along with tax cuts, along with less spending, the farmers, the ag producers, the rural communities have not only stuck with him, but they have voted for him in bigger and bigger numbers.
No one supports President Trump more than this community. We are in constant contact with our farmers, with our ranchers as we're having these negotiations. I have been afforded an incredible seat at the table, in the room, talking to those who are negotiating to ensure that our farmers and ranchers are part of that discussion at the front end, and then if necessary, at the back end.
Like in 2019 under China one, when the president and then Secretary Perdue put forth the pot of money to help make up for some of those economic damages, we will ensure that we are ready to do that again. I don't believe it will be necessary. I don't think the president thinks it will be necessary as the reshoring of almost $6 trillion comes back into America, as we're cutting government spending, as the big, beautiful bill is making its way and we cut taxes, as everyone across every agency is deregulating, the Great American economy is becoming unleashed.
Thank you all so much. Thank you for your great questions.
[Inaudible] comments on the fact the economy is contracting --