President Trump’s new tariffs on steel and aluminum will hurt my farm.

That much was true when President Trump signed the documents to impose a 25 percent tax on imported steel and a 10-percent tax on imported aluminum. These tariffs will raise the price of farm machinery and almost certainly spark a trade war that no one can win — and especially not farmers like me, who depend on exports for our livelihood.

What’s the solution? Perhaps the president’s actions will encourage other countries to come to the negotiating table and compromise, allowing goods and services to flow across borders with less interference. That’s an ongoing goal for U.S. farmers: More access to export markets.

The optimist in me says that we’ll...