A coalition of 42 food and agriculture organizations signed on to a letter in support of the April 2, 2024 dated draft Congressional resolution on agriculture trade provided below.  Co-Chairs of the House Ag Trade Caucus have agreed to share this draft of the Resolution with the food and agriculture trade associations in order to obtain a preliminary list of supporters.  Once the resolution is finalized for introduction, food and agriculture trade associations will consider sending a formal letter of support for public use.

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The organizations listed below support the April 2, 2024 draft resolution on food and agriculture trade proposed by the co-chairs of the House Ag Trade Caucus.  The following organizations appreciate Congress’s leadership in ensuring U.S. trade policy supports the large, dynamic, and growing food and agriculture economy in the United States.

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[APRIL 2, 2024 DRAFT RESOLUTION]

Whereas, the United States food and agriculture industries are critical to the prosperity of the American people and vital to global food security;

Whereas, American food and agriculture production standards are among the most technologically advanced, highly efficient, safe, and sustainable in the world;

Whereas, the United States’ food and agriculture industries accounted for $2.8 trillion in total wages and generated over $9.6 trillion in total economic output in 2023;

Whereas, in 2023, American food and agriculture exports totaled over $181.4 billion, supporting jobs and creating economic opportunity throughout the supply chain in every state of the country;

Whereas, in 2023, jobs in manufacturing of agricultural products accounted for almost 20% of all manufacturing jobs in the United States, and grew by over 150 thousand jobs since 2019.

Whereas, in addition to its commercial exports, the United States plays an indispensable role in feeding millions around the world as the largest country donor of international food assistance;

Whereas, in 2023, the United States experienced an 11 percent decline in the value of U.S. food and agricultural exports, and a 12 percent decline in export volume;

Whereas, the latest forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the 2023 fiscal year predicted a food and agriculture trade deficit of $30 billion, a stark contrast to the United States’ historical trade surplus in agricultural exports, which have averaged approximately $12.5 billion over the past ten years;

Whereas, current food and agricultural trade exports are significantly below prior years and America is losing its hard-won global agricultural trade dominance;

Whereas, U.S. food and agriculture remains subject to unjustified, non-science-based trade barriers across Asia, the Americas, and Europe;

Whereas, U.S. food and agricultural exports still face trade-restrictive tariffs in key markets around the globe;

Whereas, U.S. food and agricultural exports have grown significantly in the past through the proactive engagement of the United States government over multiple administrations using a myriad of tools to open and expand market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers including: comprehensive trade agreements; enforcement of existing bilateral and WTO agreements through dispute settlement processes; trade promotion programs; and bilateral or regional negotiations to address tariff and nontariff barriers;

Therefore, be it resolved, it is the sense of Congress that Congress and the Administration must work together, with urgency, to pursue effective food and agricultural trade policies that include the following components:

• A renewed commitment to secure new and expanded market access and maintain global competitiveness for the U.S. food and agriculture industries;

• Strong support for domestic trade promotion programs that benefit all sectors of agriculture,

• Consideration of comprehensive trade agreements with key trading partners, focusing on new market access through lower tariffs on U.S. exports and resolution of unwarranted trade barriers ;

• Enforcement of the market access commitments in our existing multilateral and bilateral trade agreements and improved procedures to enforce U.S. trade laws for agricultural producers.

• The elimination of long-standing unwarranted nontariff trade barriers through an effective and efficient WTO dispute settlement process;

• Pursuit of a global trading system in food and agriculture based on sound science through the WTO and other international bodies;

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