TRADE UPDATE

Food & Agriculture
April 16, 2024

By Kristy Goodfellow, Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs, and Natalie Diez, Trade and Economic Policy Intern

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • U.S.-EU:
    • From April 8-9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted the second Stakeholder Session of the U.S.-EU Collaboration Platform on Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
    • From April 4-5, the sixth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) took place in Belgium.
  • USTR: Ahead of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s April 16 House hearing, USTR published two fact sheets—one on the Biden-Harris Administration trade wins for agriculture, and another on deliverables under the Administration’s worker-centered trade policy. Additionally, on April 4, USTR highlighted food and agriculture exports, protecting the steel and aluminum sector, and supply chain resilience in a blog posting called “We Build Communities: A Trip to Kentucky and Tennessee.”
  • Competition: On April 8, Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack participated in the 2024 Enforcers Summit co-hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Justice Department’s antitrust division, an event highlighting the Biden Administration’s efforts on promoting competition.
  • AGOA Renewal: Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced a bill to reauthorize the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The bill proposes a 16-year extension.
  • FAO: On April 9, during the opening of the Informal North America Regional Conference (INARC), FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu prioritized cooperation on climate, gender equality, and innovation with Canada and the United States, aiming for sustainability and resilience in global food security.
  • World Trade Organization: In its Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report, the WTO projects that world merchandise trade volume will grow by 2.6% in 2024 and by 3.3% in 2025.

“We are making progress towards global trade recovery, thanks to resilient supply chains and a solid multilateral trading framework — which are vital for improving livelihoods and welfare. It’s imperative that we mitigate risks like geopolitical strife and trade fragmentation to maintain economic growth and stability.”

—WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on the Global Trade Outlook report

U.S.-EU

Collaboration Platform on Agriculture

  • From April 8-9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted the second Stakeholder Session of the U.S.-EU Collaboration Platform on Agriculture (CPA) in Washington, D.C.
  • Following the first stakeholder meeting in Brussels in December 2022, this event aimed to facilitate dialogue between European and American agricultural stakeholders and officials.
  • The Stakeholder Session included panel discussions on resilient food chains; new markets and measuring agricultural sustainability; the future of the livestock sector; the role of innovation; and improving cooperation in agriculture. 
  • On April 9, participants visited a farm in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
From @USDAForeignAg on X

Trade and Technology Council (TTC)

  • From April 4-5, the sixth ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) took place in Belgium. It was co-chaired by representatives from both Belgium and the United States, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. 
  • The United States and EU articulated a position on “Trade for Economic Security” in a joint statement:
    • “We reaffirm shared concerns about the challenges posed to our economic security by, among other issues, economic coercion, the weaponization of economic dependencies, and the use of non-market policies and practices by third countries. We share the objective of continuing efforts to de-risk and diversify our trade and investment relations, including by reducing critical and excessive dependencies and strengthening the resilience of strategic supply chains.”
  • The joint statement also includes a section on biotechnology cooperation. The partners agreed to continue work through the U.S.-EU Joint Consultative Group to “push bioeconomic development forward in ways that address the most pressing global challenges we all face.”
  • The joint statement acknowledged the current political context, specifically noting geopolitical challenges such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and escalating violence in the Middle East.
  • The joint statement states that the partners intend to engage with stakeholders throughout the rest of 2024 to learn stakeholder views on the future of TTC.

USTR

Recent USTR Publications on Agricultural Trade

  • Ahead of Tai’s House Ways and Means hearing on April 16, USTR published two fact sheets — one on the Biden Administration’s trade wins for agriculture, and another on deliverables under the Administration’s worker-centered trade policy.
  • In the report on worker-centered trade policy, USTR highlighted certain successes for agriculture, including:
    • Re-opening South Africa and Colombia’s poultry market;
    • Improved market access to India;
    • USMCA disputes for corn and dairy; and
    • Expanded ethanol access in Japan.
  • In the summary of trade wins for agriculture, USTR highlighted trade successes by each country and shared agriculture-related progress made at the WTO.
  • Additionally, USTR highlighted agriculture trade and a blog posting called “We Build Communities: A Trip to Kentucky and Tennessee.” The post describes how USTR has preserved market opportunities in the EU for a distillery, while also protecting U.S. steel and aluminum industries. The post also addresses supply chain resilience.

Competition Policy

2024 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Enforcers Summit

  • On April 8, Tai and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack participated in the 2024 Enforcers Summit hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Justice Department’s antitrust division.  The event highlighted the Biden Administration’s efforts on promoting competition in the economy through cooperation between competition enforcers and federal regulators.
  • The focus on competition policy across the federal government can be traced back to a 2021 executive order issued by Biden.
  • Vilsack highlighted several related activities undertaken by USDA and discussed the challenges faced by small and mid-sized farming operations.
  • Tai drew parallels between domestic competition issues and the players in global trade.  She talked about the vulnerabilities that monopolies and monopsonies play in supply chains and discussed the need to enforce regulation abroad, particularly in relation to China.

AGOA Renewal

Senators Propose AGOA Extension

  • Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced a bill to reauthorize the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
  • The bill proposes a 16-year extension; includes additional review, enforcement, and reporting requirements; expands ability to include inputs from North African countries, prohibits imports made with forced labor; and adds additional protections for transshipments, among other changes.
  • AGOA benefits are currently set to expire in September 2025.
  • In June 2023, the ITC published a report called African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Program Usage, Trends, and Sectoral Highlights, showing the agricultural imports under AGOA and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) has steadily increased over time and reached about $700 million in 2021.

FAO

8th Edition of the Informal North America Regional Conference (INARC)

  • On April 9, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu highlighted three priorities for cooperation between Canada, United States, and FAO: addressing the climate crisis, gender equality, and innovation.
  • Qu expressed gratitude for the support from Canada and the United States, highlighting a recent increase in FAO’s budget.
  • FAO aims to enhance transparency in governance and become more proactive to address global challenges. FAO’s Strategic Framework focuses on four pillars: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and better life.
  • FAO’s Global Roadmap aims to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 without exceeding the 1.5°C threshold, addressing hunger and climate issues.
  • FAO focuses on building resilience in vulnerable communities, with support from Canada and the United States, including the One Health agenda to tackle emerging disease threats.
  • Qu Dongyu posted on X: “#INARC is a vital opportunity for @FAO to further strengthen our collaboration with Canada & U.S. Let’s continue to work together, capitalizing on FAO’s technical expertise and knowledge, identifying innovative & sustainable solutions to global food security challenges. #4Betters.”

WTO

Global Trade Outlook

  • In the Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report, published in April 2024, the WTO predicts world merchandise trade volume will grow 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025.
  • The report notes a 1.2% decline in merchandise trade volume in 2023, but a 2.7% GDP growth rate. 
  • The report notes in its summary that “World trade has been remarkably resilient in recent years despite the presence of several major economic shocks.”
  • The report notes that geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty pose risks to the trade recovery, with potential impacts on food and energy prices.
  • Projections indicate Africa’s exports will see the fastest growth at 5.3%, followed by the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) region, with European exports expected to lag.