Like many farm state Senators, Crapo often beats the drum on “market access” for American agriculture.
“The United States must resume negotiating real, comprehensive trade deals that expand market access for American producers,” he said, focusing on farmers. “Congress must work with the U.S. Trade Representative to reauthorize key trade programs, enforce existing agreements, and negotiate on behalf of American farmers, producers and manufacturers. American farmers win when they have a chance to compete.”
Katherine Tai, the lead trade diplomat under Biden, did manage to open markets for American farmers in the last four years. This included markets that had been previously opened and then closed. Tai opened or re-opened markets in six countries between 2022 to 2024.
Worth noting, despite the renewal of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 2012, Seoul maintains tariffs and tariff-rate-quotas on numerous farm goods 12 years later. Tai managed to get some quotas increased last February, namely on poultry and corn. Korea only recently lowered tariffs on oranges due to inflation, but have maintained high tariffs (around 50%) for American citrus despite the FTA.
The U.S. has not signed any new FTAs since the early 2000s, and has only renewed FTAs with the likes of Korea and of course the new USMCA which replaced NAFTA. Three years ago, a landmark study by the International Trade Commission found that the biggest beneficiaries of trade deals were borderless corporations, often at the expense of blue collar labor and even the employees of those large multinationals whose labor was often replaced by imports.
For Idaho farmers, FTAs are not a guarantee for growth. In 2017, Idaho had around 25,000 farms with 11.7 million acres used for pasture and row crops. By 2023, that number fell to 22,600 farms and acreage fell slightly to 11.5 million, according to the USDA State Agriculture Review. Their top crops by area planted, in order, are wheat, potatoes, barley and corn.
Overall, U.S. exports in key agriculture commodities show a mixed picture from free trade deals. While there are too many commodities to list, some of the big, globally traded commodities like wheat showed a mix back with free trade partners. Wheat exports to Canada were around 46.5 million tons in 2014 and 38.1 million in 2023. There were years in between that broke records, perhaps due to crop problems up north. South Korea imported 1.49 million tons of wheat in 2014 and 1.20 million in 2023 with a high of 1.73 million in 2021. Wheat exports to Mexico can best be described as reliable and steady, going from 2.92 million tons in 2014 to 3.1 million in 2024, based on USDA data.
“Trade agreements or negotiations will do little or nothing for our agricultural exports,” said Jeff Ferry, CPA’s Chief Economist Emeritus. “Unfortunately it’s a tough world market, with new sources of supply weighing on global prices. That’s the reality.”
Senate Finance Committee Priorities: Renew Tax Cuts Expiring This Year, Open Markets for Agriculture Exports
Republican control of the Senate means Senator Michael Crapo (R-ID) gets promoted from Ranking Member to Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He 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.
Those two items seem top of mind for the Senator, judging by his statement this week announcing his new role on the committee.
Despite his call for more trade deals that will help American agricultural commodities exporters, there is a chance Crapo will be satisfied if TCJA is renewed and Europe gets in line with Washington on the digital services trade, a trade U.S. companies dominate globally.
European countries have voiced frustrations that U.S. market positions in cloud services, internet search, social media and e-commerce limits opportunities for European companies to thrive in their home markets. They want to charge a Digital Services Tax, something Crapo and others on Capitol Hill are against.
For tax cuts, Crapo’s position is that the Trump-era TCJA helped maintain businesses in the U.S. They should be renewed.
“Since the TCJA’s passage, not a single U.S. company has moved its headquarters abroad for tax purposes, creating more opportunities for American workers,” he said.
Agricultural Trade and Open Markets
Like many farm state Senators, Crapo often beats the drum on “market access” for American agriculture.
“The United States must resume negotiating real, comprehensive trade deals that expand market access for American producers,” he said, focusing on farmers. “Congress must work with the U.S. Trade Representative to reauthorize key trade programs, enforce existing agreements, and negotiate on behalf of American farmers, producers and manufacturers. American farmers win when they have a chance to compete.”
Katherine Tai, the lead trade diplomat under Biden, did manage to open markets for American farmers in the last four years. This included markets that had been previously opened and then closed. Tai opened or re-opened markets in six countries between 2022 to 2024.
Worth noting, despite the renewal of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 2012, Seoul maintains tariffs and tariff-rate-quotas on numerous farm goods 12 years later. Tai managed to get some quotas increased last February, namely on poultry and corn. Korea only recently lowered tariffs on oranges due to inflation, but have maintained high tariffs (around 50%) for American citrus despite the FTA.
The U.S. has not signed any new FTAs since the early 2000s, and has only renewed FTAs with the likes of Korea and of course the new USMCA which replaced NAFTA. Three years ago, a landmark study by the International Trade Commission found that the biggest beneficiaries of trade deals were borderless corporations, often at the expense of blue collar labor and even the employees of those large multinationals whose labor was often replaced by imports.
For Idaho farmers, FTAs are not a guarantee for growth. In 2017, Idaho had around 25,000 farms with 11.7 million acres used for pasture and row crops. By 2023, that number fell to 22,600 farms and acreage fell slightly to 11.5 million, according to the USDA State Agriculture Review. Their top crops by area planted, in order, are wheat, potatoes, barley and corn.
Overall, U.S. exports in key agriculture commodities show a mixed picture from free trade deals. While there are too many commodities to list, some of the big, globally traded commodities like wheat showed a mix back with free trade partners. Wheat exports to Canada were around 46.5 million tons in 2014 and 38.1 million in 2023. There were years in between that broke records, perhaps due to crop problems up north. South Korea imported 1.49 million tons of wheat in 2014 and 1.20 million in 2023 with a high of 1.73 million in 2021. Wheat exports to Mexico can best be described as reliable and steady, going from 2.92 million tons in 2014 to 3.1 million in 2024, based on USDA data.
“Trade agreements or negotiations will do little or nothing for our agricultural exports,” said Jeff Ferry, CPA’s Chief Economist Emeritus. “Unfortunately it’s a tough world market, with new sources of supply weighing on global prices. That’s the reality.”
Senate Finance Committee OK on China Tariffs
Crapo did not mention the China tariffs in his statement, but said, “We must demonstrate to our trading partners that the United States, rather than China, presents the best opportunity for a brighter economic future.”
Last year, the Finance Committee, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), said the Section 301 tariffs need to be “used in the maximum fashion possible.” He also called on the USTR to “use 301 more proactively to investigate and take action against China’s unfair subsidies.”
“China is just throwing money at everything from solar panels to semiconductors, doing everything they can to drive American competitors out of business with a flood of cheap imports,” Wyden said during a hearing with Tai last spring.
At the time, Crapo agreed with Wyden’s position on China and the Section 301 tariffs. It was a stark change from 2022 when Senator Crapo sought to weaken those tariffs via legislation.
The Senate Finance Committee oversees over 50% of the federal budget. The Committee focuses on tax policy; social safety net and health care programs; and implementation of foreign trade agreements.
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