A congressional caucus continues working to improve trade for U.S. agriculture. The bipartisan Congressional Agricultural Trade Caucus launched earlier this year and works to solidify support for trade policies that benefit all those along the food and agricultural supply chains. Co-Chair Nebraska Republican Representative Adrian Smith highlights work of the Caucus.
“We have been promoting the aspects of why trade is important. I think sometimes U.S. agriculture is taken for granted in terms of the overall trade agenda,” Smith said. “We want to make sure that stakeholders hear from us and that we have good interaction, good conversations of saying, ‘OK, here what a particular trade policy means’ ultimately to producers and to consumers.”
The Caucus recently sent a letter to the Ambassador of Colombia to the United States expressing concerns regarding investigation into U.S. exports of powdered milk products.
“We export about fifteen percent of our dairy. We have very efficient production. I think we want to look at opportunities to increase that number. Other countries get very protective,” he said. “Canada is a prime example that they get very protective of their own dairy production. So, we’re going to have to engage more though to explain to other countries that opening this up is good for their consumers, good for their industry and we can benefit from that as well.”
Smith is one of four co-chairs of the caucus. The others are Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD).
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.