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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Legislation is being introduced in the House and Senate to create a task force composed of officials with USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative's Office to identify agricultural trade barriers such as India’s farm subsidies that should be challenged at the World Trade Organization.
USDA’s plan to spend $1.4 billion to pay for a new export promotion program will provide the increase in market development funding that commodity groups have been trying to get through the farm bill, says Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Haiti is the largest foreign market for U.S. milled long grain rice and the escalation of gang violence there is threatening the ability of the U.S. to export grain to the country.
People in some of the poorest and hungriest nations in the world may be the hardest hit by India’s decision last month to ban exports of long grain, non-basmati rice – a move that’s already pushing global prices higher and forcing import-dependent countries to scramble to find supplies, according to analysts and trade data.
India says its latest ban on rice exports is an effort to fight domestic food inflation, but the U.S. rice sector says the measure will add large quantities of cheap grain to the international market and push down prices that American farmers get for their crop.
House lawmakers are setting the stage for a farm bill battle over international food aid with new legislation to diminish the role of non-profit humanitarian groups and eliminate the roles of cash and non-U.S. origin food in the assistance delivered around the world.
U.S. trade policy should not be focused on using American might for deals to increase exports, but rather trading access to U.S. markets in return for influence on foreign countries, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow told farm groups Tuesday that costs for fertilizer and diesel fuel have dropped sharply since last year, undermining a key argument the organizations are making for increasing support rates in the major commodity programs.
The battle over food assistance work requirements is picking up with a new Republican proposal from Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., who plans to drop a bill today to increase the age limit for SNAP work requirements.
