Bipartisan Group Says Growing Ag Trade Deficit Could Come From Lack of FTAs
Reps. Max Miller, R-Ohio, and Angie Craig, D-Minn., led 20 other House members on a letter to administration officials expressing concern that a lack of a strategy to open markets through free trade agreements is leading to a trade deficit in agriculture. The authors noted that the U.S. had an agricultural trade surplus for about 60 years, until recently.
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USDA's Outlook for Agricultural Trade projected that agricultural exports in FY 2024 would be $169.5 billion, $30 billion less than imports. Last year, the agricultural trade deficit was just under $17 billion. The agency estimated that grain and feed exports would fall by about $37 billion compared with last fiscal year, and that livestock, poultry and dairy exports would fall by about $36 billion.
"We remain concerned that the recent farm trade deficit trend may be attributable in some regard to the proactive trade policies of our economic competitors. This could unfortunately leave the U.S. behind in global trade pacts," said the letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. "As such, our nation must be vigorous in efforts to pursue additional market access and expand exports through new trade agreements."