President Trump ordered his administration to study all barriers to U.S. exports and said he will match whatever hurdles other countries have put up.

The review, expected to be finished by April 1, will go far beyond tariffs, according to a presidential memo Trump signed Feb. 13.

The memo instructed trade and commerce officials to look at non-tariff barriers — whether “written or unwritten” — and assign a monetary figure to the trade obstacles.

Trump said at the White House his administration will treat every country as it treats the U.S.

“They don’t let us in, we’re going to determine a value for that, but overall it will be a very simple system. Whatever they charge, we charge, so nobody can complain,” he said.

“I think the farmers are going to be helped very much because product is being dumped into our country,” Trump said. “I think our farmers are going to be helped. Jobs are going to be helped. Our manufacturers are going to be helped.”

Trump has imposed new tariffs on China, steel and aluminum since retaking office. The memo doesn’t immediately raise or lower tariffs, but Trump said it’s the biggest order he’s signed yet.

The “fair and reciprocal plan” will examine foreign taxes, subsidies, regulations, wages, currency manipulation and “any other practice” that unfairly limits market access, according to the White House.

“We are going to address each country one by one,” said Trump’s commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick.

The U.S. had a $40 million trade deficit in farm goods in 2024 because of “non-reciprocal barriers,” according to a White House fact sheet.

Apple, cherry and pear growers face tariffs and non-tariff barriers, Northwest Horticultural Council President Mark Powers said.

“Our growers have never benefited from import protections,” he said. “On the flip slide, we export to a lot of countries with tariffs.

“It’s good the president is tackling it. We’ve been stuck in limbo on trade for quite awhile. We need tariff reductions,” Powers said.

The White House offered some examples of non-reciprocal trade practices. The U.S. averages 5% tariffs on agricultural imports, while India levies 39%, according to the White House.

The U.S. has a 2.5% tariff on ethanol, while Brazil has an 18% tariff. Brazil exported more than $200 million worth of ethanol to the U.S. last year, while the U.S. exported $25 million worth of Brazil.

Trump said if other countries lower their tariffs, so will the U.S.

“They charge us nothing. We charge them nothing,” he said. “We’d be very happy to have nothing and nothing. We wouldn’t have any tariffs at all.”

R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard said he appreciated the president’s focus on putting U.S. livestock producers on an even footing with foreign meat suppliers.

U.S. producers, however, need protective tariffs to offset regulatory, currency and wage disadvantages, he said.

“A zero-tariff world is essentially the failed free-trade policy we’ve been pursuing the past several decades,” Bullard said. “It might be appropriate for certain products, but much more needs to be done for livestock producers in the U.S.”