April 16, 2025 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of 30 agriculture and food organizations submitted a letter this week calling on congressional leaders to ensure support for U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization. The letter emphasizes the importance of global trade to the nation’s farmers and ranchers and the role of rules-based systems to further expansion of U.S. food and agricultural exports.   

The letter was addressed to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, which maintain jurisdiction over trade policy on Capitol Hill.  

“To continue feeding the world and growing food and agricultural products, the United States must step up and lead at the WTO. Without the WTO, our country will lose critical market access for American food and agricultural exports, but more importantly, we will lose the opportunity to build rules that allow us to feed the world. Challenges with the WTO’s functionality need not result in a closing of markets to U.S. food and agriculture goods, nor a crisis with the United States’ loss as a global leader within the WTO.  Rather, we should take this opportunity to refocus and leverage the WTO in support of a market based global economy that makes America strong, safe and prosperous,” the groups note in the letter.  

The letter – co-led by the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) – includes support from organizations representing industries throughout the value chain, including producers, processors, export promoters, and more. 

“U.S. global leadership is vital to ensuring the future of rules-based trade that benefits American agriculture,” said CRA President and CEO John Bode. “The WTO is not without its flaws, but it is foundational to our existing trading system and includes rules and principles that are critical to our industry. The WTO and the people working to uphold order in global trade deserve the strong support of the U.S. government.”  

“Since the U.S. joined the WTO in 1995, American food and agriculture have benefited from a more stable and predictable global trading system, “said IDFA President and CEO Michael Dykes, D.V.M.  “That foundation has allowed us to deliver safe, nutritious and high-quality products to customers around the world, supporting global food security and improved nutrition. Continued U.S. leadership at the WTO is essential to build on that progress and ensure we remain a trusted partner in meeting the needs of global customers.”  

BACKGROUND 

Annual agricultural exports have grown from $62 billion when the U.S. first joined the WTO in 1995 to $176 billion in 2024. American membership in the organization has led to the elimination of trade-distorting subsidies around the world, the establishment of tariff-rate quotas, and more efficient border procedures, among many other trade-promoting policies.  

The organizations also highlighted the importance of the WTO as China seeks to expand its leadership role in global trade, something that could expand without effective U.S. action in the rules-based trading space.  

The full letter and list of signatories can be read below: 

April 16, 2025 

Dear Chairs Smith and Crapo and Ranking Members Neal and Wyden: 

We are writing to urge your support for U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).  The WTO contributes significantly to a strong, safe, and prosperous America. 

America’s food and agriculture community recognizes and agrees with certain concerns related to the functionality and balance of the WTO, particularly as they relate to non-market economies, such as China. However, the WTO has created meaningful economic and political stability that cannot be underestimated. Since the United States adopted major WTO agreements in 1994, for example, U.S. agricultural exports have grown from $62 billion to nearly $176 billion in 2024, as export subsidies were eliminated, trade distorting subsidies and tariffs reduced, tariff-rate quotas established for some commodities, border procedures became more efficient, and non-tariff barriers subject to new rules minimized disguised protectionism. U.S. agricultural exports make up approximately 20% of U.S. farm income, and substantially more for certain products. This growth would not have been possible without the rules-based framework created by the WTO to support market-based international trade, which has become the basis for all U.S. free trade agreements. 

Notwithstanding the concerns we share with the WTO, a more pressing risk is the enhanced  leadership role China is seeking  on the international stage and specifically within the WTO.  In recent years, China has stepped up as a leader in the WTO by filing an increasing number of disputes, coalescing developing countries’ positions related to e-commerce, and flaunting plurilateral negotiations on investment that could cement China’s leadership in both the organization and the Eastern Hemisphere.  Without a strong U.S. counter to China’s actions within the WTO, the organization and its rules risk being reduced to a vehicle for China’s continued economic and political growth internationally. 

To continue feeding the world and growing food and agricultural products, the United States must step up and lead at the WTO.  Without the WTO, our country will lose critical market access for American food and agricultural exports, but more importantly, we will lose the opportunity to build rules that allow us to feed the world.  Challenges with the WTO’s functionality need not result in a closing of markets to U.S. food and agriculture goods, nor a crisis with the United States’ loss as a global leader within the WTO.  Rather, we should take this opportunity to refocus and  leverage the WTO in support of a market based global economy that makes America strong, safe and prosperous. 

We therefore strongly urge you to maintain and strengthen the United States’ role in the WTO and adamantly oppose U.S. withdrawal from the WTO.  Thank you for your consideration of this request as its potential impact  to American food and agriculture is significant. 

Sincerely, 

cc: 
Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson and Ranking Member Angie Craig, House Committee on Agriculture 
Chairman John Boozman and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry