USDA Touts Trade Successes At Ag Forum

Trade was a key point of focus for USDA during last week's Ag Outlook Forum.

Agriculture Department Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg and U.S. Trade Representative Chief Ag Negotiator Julie Callahan discussed what they called examples of recent successes when it came to reciprocal trade and rapid response missions.

“By the end of this quarter, we're anticipating we're going to be shipping about 50% more ethanol of the United Kingdom than we were a year ago,” Lindberg said.

“The Taiwan agreement that was signed last week, duty-free access, addressing the beef and pork non-tariff barriers, Callahan said.  “Agreements on reciprocal trade also have commitments across the board to not limit market access when specialty cheese manufacturers want to export cheeses that are protected by EU geographical indications.”

Several Wins For The American Ag Industry Over The Past Year

Chief Economist Justin Benavidez discussed successes last week as well.

"The value of exports for agriculture to these seven marketplaces was $8.3 billion in 2024, Benavidez said.  "So that's Taiwan, Guatemala, Malaysia, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Argentina, and Cambodia, and combined value of a roughly $8.2 billion or $8.3 billion each year. We've signed new agreements on reciprocal trade with each of those countries, and some of those gains include reductions in tariffs across many categories, a lot of non-tariff measures being lowered and allowing access for U.S. poultry and poultry products, Argentina, a variety of other wins in the marketplace for U.S. agricultural products globally."

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