The Trump administration is keeping details on preparations for the president’s trip to China closely guarded.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told lawmakers this week that the U.S. wants to secure fresh agriculture commitments from Beijing during Trump’s May visit. But U.S. agriculture is being kept in the dark about what those might be.
The administration regularly briefs U.S. agriculture and other industries through calls with cleared advisers. But even in that forum, when participants have pressed the administration for details, they’ve been told the information is kept to cabinet-level officials.
“I never hear anything more than, ‘Our goal is political level, highest levels, and it's to create stability,” one participant told Agri-Pulse. “That's all I've been hearing from USTR for months with China.”
Sources from several industries with large export volumes to China told Agri-Pulse Thursday that they had not had any details on whether their industries might benefit from the visit.
API and ag groups publicly reunite on E15, Budzinski ‘optimistic’
The American Petroleum Institute, National Corn Growers Association and top ethanol lobbying groups are pressing U.S. lawmakers to back a new plan to get E15 put into law.
Supporters of a bipartisan measure to allow year-round sales of higher ethanol blends, or E15, want the proposal attached to a House farm bill that’s set for a vote as soon as next week.
The measure also would limit refinery exemptions to national biofuel-blending rules, a provision rejected by some small refiners but supported by larger ones.
Rep. Nikki Budzinski, an Illinois Democrat co-sponsoring the proposed E15 amendment, tells Agri-Pulse’s Newsmakers she’s “very optimistic.”
“There were some minor adjustments made for the small refiners to help them out a little bit more from previous legislation,” she said. Watch Agri-Pulse Newsmakers here today.
But, but, but: Small refinery exemptions have been a contentious issue for Republicans and Democrats alike for years. API’s push to rein in SREs is drawing ire from smaller refiners that argue larger competitors are trying to squeeze them out of the market. API says it wants a more transparent, less volatile system.
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Biomass-based diesel and soybean groups have previously cautioned that changes to the SRE process could trigger unintended consequences for their industries. In January, when a proposed SRE overhaul derailed an E15 deal in the House, the American Soybean Association said that while it supports year-round E15, it remained concerned about any effort “to weaken the Renewable Fuel Standard and other policies U.S. soybean farmers rely on for domestic market demand.”
ASA declined to comment on the current E15 measure. Other groups representing biomass-based diesel and the soy industry also declined or could not immediately be reached.
Hoeven commissions report on sugar imports
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., has commissioned researchers at North Dakota State University to look into the impacts of rising out-of-quota sugar imports on domestic prices. The findings, published Thursday, show they are depressing domestic prices by between five and eight cents per pound.
The higher out-of-quota tariff, which is fixed at 15.36 cents per pound, has lost almost half of its real value to inflation over the last 26 years, the authors note. Out-of-quota imports have jumped more than 700% since 2018.
Trump’s emergency tariffs provided some additional protection, the report says. But that has mostly gone with their axing.
“Absent a tariff adjustment, the estimated price effects would be expected to persist,” the report reads.
Take note: Hoeven has been pressing the administration to mount a trade probe into sugar imports to determine if additional protections are needed for domestic industry. His home state of North Dakota, combined with Minnesota, account for more than half of all U.S. sugar beet producers.
Greer said this week that the administration is weighing its options.
Senate Finance Committee moves Greer hearing
The Senate Finance Committee postponed a planned hearing with Greer on Thursday after a vote-a-rama kept senators in the chamber until the early morning.
An aide told Agri-Pulse no new date has been set yet.
EU trade chief in DC
European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič is in Washington today for meetings with cabinet officials, lawmakers and industry.
The European Union delegation to the U.S. says his main focus will be identifying areas for cooperation on critical minerals and other shared trade issues.
Rollins in Missouri to announce disaster relief changes
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins will be in Higginsville, Missouri, today to tour a farm with Farm Production and Conservation Undersecretary Richard Fordyce and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe.
They will be at GR Farms, which uses Ag Spectrum’s Maximum Farming System to optimize nutrient efficiency. Rollins plans to announce disaster program changes to help specialty crop growers.
The trip to Higginsville likely means that Rollins will not visit Douglas, Arizona, this week, as she had said she would. The visit to the port of entry was expected to center on issues surrounding the New World screwworm and whether certain ports could be opened to imports of feeder cattle from Mexico.
Congress needs hearings focused on fertilizer, AFBF exec says
Policy conversations around fertilizer have “started to accelerate” with the introduction of numerous bills, but American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President of Public Policy and Economic Analysis John Newton tells Agri-Pulse that Congress needs to devote more attention to the issue.
“I think an important part of this conversation is that we need to have hearings. We need to get experts at the table,” Newton told Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. “We need to get economists and industry representatives to help us think strategically about how we, in the short run and in the long run, solve this problem.”
“With so much of the world's fertilizer moving through the Strait of Hormuz,” Newton added, “we're not really food secure if we have to import so much.” About one-third of the world’s fertilizer passes through the strait, which is nearly completely blocked to vessel traffic due to the conflict in Iran.
Newton remains confident lawmakers will support another farm aid package that lawmakers say could cost $20 billion after President Donald Trump voiced his support at the White House farmer event in March.
Over at USDA: Fox News’ Stuart Varney pressed Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins Thursday about the Agriculture Department’s plan to alleviate fertilizer prices for farmers.
Rollins highlighted her meetings with fertilizer company executives, the waiver of Jones Act domestic shipping requirements, and increased fertilizer imports from Venezuela. She did not, however, share a plan to mitigate the fertilizer shortages and price spikes.
USDA budget bill advances in House
A proposed $26.3 billion budget for USDA, FDA and CFTC cleared the House Appropriations’ ag panel and now advances to a full committee markup next Tuesday.
Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., praised the bill for coming in 1.4% below 2026 funding levels, despite including CFTC. The derivatives regulator was in a different legislative package last year.
Harris applauded the bill’s focus on fighting diseases like New World screwworm, boosting support for child nutrition, investing in ag research, funding key rural development and Make America Healthy Again programs.
The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Sanford Bishop, said he likes that the measure maintains food-aid funds for low-income seniors and preserves global anti-hunger initiatives like Food for Peace. But he criticized cuts in fruit and vegetable benefits for in the Women, Infants and Children food program and staff reductions at USDA.
The markup before the full committee is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28.
Final word
“I recognize that change can be challenging. Yet throughout our 73-year history, ARS has continually evolved to meet the nation’s needs — advancing agricultural science, strengthening food security, and responding to emerging national and global challenges.” – Agricultural Research Service Administrator Joon Park in a message to ARS employees Thursday on the agency’s reorganization. Read more in our story here.
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