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Peterson: New Farm Bill Must Protect Against Trade Retaliation

Dan Farm Bill, Industry News Release, Legislative

House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson says that American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will generate retaliation that will hit farm exports hard. As a result, he’ll be working with House and Senate Ag Committee leaders on a new farm bill to protect farmers from “the market fluctuations caused by these actions.”

petersonA USDA spokesman says President Trump “will not allow American agriculture to bear the brunt of retaliatory tactics.”

However, in an email to the Hagstrom Report, Peterson says, “That the administration has decided to move forward with these wrongheaded tariffs, even though farmers have repeatedly warned about retaliation from trade partners, shows that the administration isn’t listening or just doesn’t care.”

Instead of a farm bill focused on welfare reform, Peterson says he looks forward to working with leadership to craft a bill that protects farmers from the market fluctuations caused by these tariffs. The legislation should also invest in trade promotion to help them rebuild lost markets.

The USDA spokesman says the agency is continuing to work to expand existing markets and to come up with new ones for American agricultural products.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.