Holistic Strategy Needed To Make American Farmers Competitive

Most, if not all, farmers will tell you all they want from Washington D.C. is help leveling the playing field when they try to sell their commodities overseas.

Photo: Glenn Vaagen

But, how can that be done?

Gregg Doud President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, and former USTR Ag Negotiator under the first Trump Administration says the U.S. needs to have a good tax policy, one that’s competitive with the rest of the world. He added the United States also needs to have a good regulatory policy, something the Administration is working on.

We Need To Make Ourselves Competitive

“Tariffs are just one piece of that and really it's about reciprocity," he noted. "How do we balance? All we have to do is be neutral on the tariff side. We win the game and beat other countries in terms of our manufacturing capacity, our agricultural production capacity, when you talk about taxes and regulatory policy and these other things. So, the tax bill is absolutely enormous for us economically in the U.S. That bill makes us competitive. So now, okay, we've got to get to work on these other things.”

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China Does Not Operate Fairly

Doud added tariffs can’t be applied like a blanket; they must be specific with specific purposes and goals in mind. He added it’s important that everyone involved understands that not all things are equal in the real world.

“The Chinese do not operate based upon supply and demand and a profit and loss. They intentionally subsidize industries to command them and take control. And so, the tariff, you have to have some ability to offset and deal with that. And we just want it to be reciprocal. We just want whatever you're charging us, we'll charge them.”