Farm-state GOP lawmakers pushed back on the administration’s trade approach in a closed-door meeting with a top Trump trade official on Wednesday, according to multiple participants.
Among the issues discussed with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during a lunch with Republican senators were the administration’s financial support for the Argentinian economy, tariffs on critical farm inputs and China’s retreat from U.S. ag purchases.
Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley said he was among the senators that raised agricultural issues with Greer but did not name the others.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Agri-Pulse after the meeting that one senator questioned whether the administration could provide relief to farmers by lifting tariffs on inputs like fertilizer.
“Instead of just giving farmers billions of dollars, why don't you take billions of dollars or hundreds of millions of dollars of tariffs off the things that farmers need,” Paul said the senator asked.
Greer offered “no response,” Paul added.
The administration exempted several farm inputs from the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs applied to almost all U.S. trading partners, including potash, certain herbicides and pesticides and some veterinary products. Products from Mexico and Canada covered by a North American trade pact are also exempt from the tariffs the administration applied over fentanyl and immigration concerns.
But other key farm inputs remain subject to duties, including agricultural machinery and parts. In August, the administration expanded its steel and aluminum tariffs to include a spate of derivative products, including some agricultural machinery parts. At least one European company has halted exports to the U.S. over the issue, according to reporting from the Guardian.
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Several specific commodities also featured among the discussions, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told Agri-Pulse.
“Soybeans, grain, sorghum, potatoes were significant topics,” Moran said.
China has still not bought any of the new U.S. soybean crop and sorghum exports to China have plummeted this year, sparking concerns around storage in the northern plains.
But potatoes are also a hot button trade issue. The U.S. industry has been pressing officials to use ongoing negotiations with Japan to secure market access for its products. The sector has long complained that Japan is dragging its feet on pest risk assessments to limit U.S. market access.
An initial trade pact between the U.S. and Japan outlined this summer did not include a provision on potatoes, but Greer has previously indicated the commodity is a priority in discussions.
Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council told Agri-Pulse earlier this month that “there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes” to get potatoes into any final agreement with Japan.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters that Greer updated Republicans on Wednesday about the status of ongoing negotiations with countries, including China -- whose officials are in Washington this week for discussions around Beijing’s recent expansion on rare earth export controls.
“He's making progress,” Kennedy said of Greer’s work on China, arguing that the trade representative is “beavering away.”
“But trade deals, as you know, are difficult,” Kennedy added.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said that the administration is clearly “working really hard” to open new markets. But he said that Greer had not outlined a specific path forward to smooth trade relations with China.
“It's kind of tit-for-tat at this point, but sometimes you have to do that in order to get a good outcome,” Boozman said.
Asked by Agri-Pulse whether he was encouraged by the conversation, Moran replied with a single word: “anxious.”
Paul – one of the top GOP tariff critics – was even more blistering. He argued that the administration’s approach to supporting farmers through the current trade turmoil is “bizarre.”
“The emergency is in the farm economy right now and that is caused by the tariff war,” Paul told Agri-Pulse. “Instead of acknowledging that the tariffs caused the problem and that our farmers are hurting because of tariffs,” the administration is talking about more assistance to farmers, he added.
“There's no understanding that they made an error, you know? It's only that, ‘oh yeah, tariffs are still great, even though they are killing the farm economy,’” Paul said. “Until we have an acknowledgement that they've accepted economic fallacies and they need to rethink their trade strategy, we're going to continue to have problem after problem. And I think the problems get worse over time.”
Kim Chipman contributed to this report.
