This new CPA economic report is a damning indictment of how decades of free trade policies have hollowed out America’s agricultural sector, benefiting a handful of corporate giants while leaving family farms to bear the brunt of a failed experiment.
Food imports into the U.S. are on the rise. The trend now is for agricultural commodity trade deficits, rather than surpluses, with key commodities like beef usually in a deficit. Despite the increase in food imports, the Food and Drug Administration conducted far fewer than the annual goal of 19,200 inspections, according to FDA data.
Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent faced a divided Senate Finance Committee on Thursday for another Trump nomination hearing this week. To his credit, Bessent demonstrated a masterful view of the macroeconomics around tariffs, trade, and currency.
The United States is now on pace to reach a $39 billion agricultural trade deficit in 2024 amid all-time record imports.
Senator Michael Crapo (R-ID) is already setting his agenda: renewing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), expiring this year, and new trade deals that open agriculture markets to U.S. exports.
These programs, which allow foreign e-commerce vendors to bypass U.S. customs processes, will continue to ensure that the de minimis loophole remains a flawed system that undermines American workers, businesses, and national security.
The goods and services trade deficit rose 7.6% in November to $78.2 billion, a big leap from previous months when the deficit was trailing under the three month moving average, based on Bureau of Economic Analysis data released this week.
Widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading experts on tariffs, industrial policy, economic modeling, and trade policy, Ferry’s contributions to CPA and the broader economic policy landscape have been transformative.
The Biden administration’s order followed a December 23 report by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which found that the acquisition posed unacceptable risks to America’s national security.
The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) preliminary report on the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy forecasts large benefits to the federal budget from tariffs and a tiny consumer price increase, confirming recent forecasts published by the Coalition for a Prosperous America.
