North Charlotte Today

Senator Thom Tillis and his colleagues have recently called on the Biden administration to prioritize increasing U.S. agricultural exports in a letter addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The senators expressed their concerns about the decline in critical markets for U.S. agricultural exports and highlighted the importance of expanding market access for American food and agricultural products.

In the letter, the senators stated, “We write to express deep concern with the continued erosion of critical markets for U.S. agricultural exports. For decades, the United States steadily increased market access for U.S. food and agricultural products. We accomplished this feat through negotiations of actual free trade agreements, removal of technical barriers to trade, and holding our trading partners accountable to their commitments, all of which have helped strengthen the agriculture economy at home and developed important strategic relationships abroad.”

The senators also criticized the current U.S. trade strategy, pointing out that the decline in U.S. agricultural exports can be attributed to an unambitious approach that fails to expand market access or reduce trade barriers. They emphasized the importance of actively pursuing free trade agreements to improve American export opportunities and global economic influence.

Furthermore, the senators urged the Biden administration to analyze the relationship between U.S. competitiveness and market share in foreign agricultural markets, emphasizing the need to address tariffs, tariff rate quotas, and other market access provisions. They stressed that a continued decline in U.S. agricultural exports is unacceptable and called for immediate action to prevent it from becoming a long-term trend.

The senators concluded by thanking the administration for their attention to the matter and urged prompt action to address the challenges facing U.S. agricultural exports. The full text of the letter can be accessed for further details.