TRADE UPDATE

Food & Agriculture
April 8, 2025

By Kristy Goodfellow, Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs, Sophia Vaccaro, CRA Trade Intern, and Charlotte McCourt, CRA Communications Intern

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • Tariffs: President Donald Trump rolled out a broad tariff plan last week in an April 2 speech commemorating what the White House dubbed as “Liberation Day.” Trump announced a 10% tariff on all countries and higher individualized tariffs on the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficit.
  • Congress:
    • Efforts to restrict President Trump’s ability to administer tariffs are underway in the Senate, with the Senate considering a bipartisan bill to end tariffs on Canadian imports and the introduction of the Trade Review Act of 2025, which would require congressional approval of new tariffs.
    • Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) discussed agriculture during his historic 25-hour speech on the Senate floor.
  • USTR:
    • The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its 2025 National Trade Estimate, which details foreign trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters and the USTR’s efforts to reduce those barriers.
    • USTR Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to begin discussions of a potential trade agreement.
  • Trade Promotion:
    • USDA is accepting applications for its four agricultural trade promotion programs for FY 2026 that promote export market development.
    • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will visit six international markets — Vietnam, Japan, India, Peru, Brazil, and the United Kingdom — in her first six months as Secretary to boost American agricultural exports.
  • North America: Registration is open for Cultivating Competitiveness: Positioning North America as a Strategic Agricultural Bloc, a CRA-sponsored event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on April 10.

“My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day – waiting for a long time. April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again.”

—President Donald J. Trump during his April 2, 2025, “Liberation Day” speech

Tariffs

LIBERATION DAY

  • President Donald Trump rolled out a broad tariff plan last week in an April 2 speech commemorating what the White House dubbed as “Liberation Day.” In his remarks, Trump announced a 10% tariff on all countries and higher individualized tariffs on the countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficit.
  • Some products are excluded, including steel and aluminum products already subject to Section 232 tariffs and products listed in Annex II.
  • The heavily criticized formula published by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for calculating tariffs simplifies to the trade balance divided by the value of imports, although the formula also includes variables for elasticities of imports and the passthrough from tariffs to import prices.
  • China responded with 34% across-the-board retaliatory tariffs, and the EU is meeting early this week to prepare a response.
  • Messaging from the Trump Administration on bilateral negotiations in response to tariffs has been inconsistent.
  • The Administration expanded aluminum tariffs to include beer and empty aluminum cans.
  • Trump also signed an executive order eliminating duty-free de minimis imports from China, effective May 2. These goods will be subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item after June 1).
Photo: White House

Congress

SENATE CONSIDERS TARIFF RESTRICTIONS

  • The Trade Review Act of 2025, introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), would require congressional approval of new tariffs within 60 days of being imposed. The bill is cosponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and a bipartisan group of 11 other senators. According to media reports, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) plans to introduce a similar bill in the House.
  • On April 2, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to end tariffs on Canadian imports, proposed by Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Mark Warner (D-VA). Four Republicans voted in favor of the bill. The measure is not expected to be considered in the House.

BOOKER DISCUSSES AGRICULTURE IN HIS HISTORIC 25-HOUR SPEECH

  • Senate Ag Committee member Cory Booker (D-NJ) set the record for the longest floor speech in the history of the U.S. Senate last week, speaking about his frustrations with the Trump administration for more than 25 hours. His speech touched on a broad array of policy issues, including agriculture and trade.
  • During Booker’s address, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), also a member of Senate Ag, asked Booker how Trump’s tariffs and budget cuts would impact farmers and the agricultural industry.
  • In response, Booker spoke out against cutting vital U.S. programs, such as food assistance programs to help underserved communities secure fresh produce and research funding to protect against epidemics like the Bird Flu.
  • Booker also spoke about the U.S.-Canadian relationship, including recalling remarks from a witness at a recent Senate hearing about “all the things we’ve done hand-in-hand to make both of our nations stronger and more prosperous.”

USTR

USTR RELEASES 2025 NATIONAL TRADE ESTIMATE REPORT

  • On March 31, USTR Jamieson Greer submitted the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) to Capitol Hill and the White House.
  • The NTE is an annual report detailing foreign trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters and the USTR’s efforts to reduce those barriers.
  • The 2025 report broadly defines trade barriers as “government laws, regulations, policies, or practices – including non-market policies and practices – that distort or undermine fair competition.” 
  • U.S. goods exports to the world for 2024 are reported at $2.1 trillion, a 2.3% increase from 2023. The top three export destinations for the United States in 2024 were Canada, Mexico, and China.

USTR MEETS WITH ARGENTINIAN MINISTER

  • Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Gerardo Werthein, Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, on April 3.
  • Prior to the meeting, the Argentinian ministry had stated Werthein and Greer would begin to lay the groundwork for a solid trade agreement.
  • The Embassy of Argentina in the United States said it was a “highly productive meeting, with great mutual understanding and optimism for the future” of both nations.

Trade Promotion

USDA ANNOUNCES 2025 AGRICULTURAL TRADE PROMOTION PROGRAMS

  • USDA launched its agricultural trade promotion programs for FY 2026 and is accepting applications for four export market development programs.
  • Funding opportunities have been opened for the Market Access Program (MAP), Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program (TASC), and Emerging Markets Program (EMP).
  • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins referred to the programs as “a crucial step in sustaining long lasting economic growth in rural America,” stating that the Trump Administration is “actively working to open new markets and remove existing barriers” for agriculture.
  • The application deadline for the four programs is June 6, 2025.

ROLLINS HEADING OVERSEAS

  • Rollins will visit six international markets in her first six months as secretary to boost American agricultural exports and expand markets.
  • Rollins will visit Vietnam, Japan, India, Peru, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. She stated that “USDA remains committed to expanding market access around the world.”

North America

CSIS NORTH AMERICAN AGRICULTURE EVENT THIS THURSDAY

  • The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) is hosting a day-long event on April 10: Cultivating Competitiveness: Positioning North America as a Strategic Agricultural Bloc.
  • The event will include breakout sessions on the growth in the North American agricultural sector under the original North American Free Trade Agreement and the successive U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, agricultural competitiveness, addressing transportation and logistical challenges, emerging technologies, and agricultural innovation.
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