Ways and Means Hearing Criticizes Biden for Abandoning FTA Negotiations
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., decried what he called "fake trade deals that lack the force of law," at a field hearing in Kimball, Minn., the district of committee member Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R), and called on the Biden administration to negotiate lower barriers to U.S. beef, pork and poultry in the U.K., Taiwan and other countries in Asia.
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Rancher Don Schiefelbein, whose barn hosted the July 10 hearing, said he traveled to England to talk trade and learned U.K. politicians "desperately" want a free trade deal. "It befuddles me why we’re not at that table," he said.
Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said to Minnesota Farm Bureau VP Carolyn Olson: "Forgive me for expressing my frustration that the Biden administration is approaching trade with dialogues and frameworks instead of trade agreements -- congressionally approved trade agreements."
He added that while he appreciates the USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are pushing Mexico on its non-scientific policy on genetically modified corn, "I’d like to see President [Joe] Biden take the stage somewhere and make it very clear what Mexico is doing with our corn is wrong. And if Mexico gets away with this, it will undermine all our trade."
Mexico has not banned the import of GMO corn, or corn treated with glyphosate pesticide, as it once planned to do, but the president directed the government to investigate how GMO corn imports could be phased out, and the risk to human health from glyphosate.
Olson grows organic corn, but she said she does not benefit from countries' restrictions on GMO corn. The price of organic corn is influenced by the price of biotech corn, she said, even if they don't move in total concert.
"We really would like to see the enforcement action there," she said. A formal dispute has not yet been launched. "Today it’s genetically engineered crops … what’s it going to be tomorrow?"
Witness Brad Vold, owner of a fourth-generation dairy farm in Minnesota, said 18% of milk production is exported, but the U.S. is losing ground to dairy competitors in Canada, New Zealand and Europe, as the EU and those two countries are inking new FTAs in fast-growing markets.
The U.S., in contrast, hasn't passed a comprehensive FTA in more than 10 years, he said. It needs to pursue such a deal in Taiwan, Vietnam, other countries in Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, where dairy consumption is growing.
Vold also was critical of the administration's inability to get Canada to comply with its commitments for more tariff rate quota access for dairy exports.
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., the most senior Democrat attending the field hearing, asked witness Gary Wertish, a retired farmer who is president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, if the U.S. is working to enforce agriculture issues in the USMCA. He said he believes the administration is doing what is within its power to do. "Some of the trouble, it's not the administration’s fault; the complexity of agreements," Wertish said.
Fischbach asked Shiefelbein to explain why FTAs matter to ranchers.
"When we disengage, guys, lost opportunities abound. Don’t be MIA [missing in action]. Get involved," he advised. He offered the FTA with South Korea as an example of how FTAs help beef exports. Before the FTA, tariffs were as high as 40% on some beef cuts, and in 2022, that had fallen to 10.6%, eventually going to zero in 2026. South Korea is now the No. 1 market for U.S. beef exports, Shiefelbein noted. USDA said that in the first nine months of 2022, South Korea imported $2.1 billion in U.S. beef, and it was expected to surpass 2021's record-setting imports worth $2.4 billion in U.S. beef.
"Good things occur when we engage with trade," he said.