Caterpillar (CAT) and Deere (DE) shares dropped 1% and 2.7%, respectively, in afternoon trading on Friday after President Donald Trump said in a speech at the White House that he wanted US tractor and farming equipment costs to be lowered.

Trump said that his administration was announcing new guidelines for tractors, limiting the rules on diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, requirements, and removing emissions control systems and computerized components that are required by current US Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Trump added that he wanted Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin to mandate that the companies sell the new tractors at lower prices.

In an emailed statement, Deere said it welcomed the announcement from Trump about giving manufacturers more flexibility to aid farmers with false DEF-quality sensor issues. "John Deere applauds the EPA's leadership to provide as much flexibility through agency guidance as possible to limit the frequency of false DEF-quality inducements," Deere vice president Kyle Gilley said.

Caterpillar did not immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Price: 696.14, Change: -7.05, Percent Change: -1.00