Ag Policy Blog

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (DTN) -- The Biden administration has increased regulatory burdens on agriculture and has failed on international trade, a group of former Trump administration officials highlighted Monday.

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican and former Nebraska governor, held a "federal issues" forum at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island on Monday. The event offered Republicans a chance to criticize President Joe Biden's regulatory policies before a friendly audience of farmers, countering some of the messaging from Democrats coming out of their national convention last week.

TRADE TALK

Trade was a major focus, as Ricketts pointed to the potential of a record $32 billion agricultural trade deficit this year. Republicans and farm organizations have criticized the lack of trade agreements being negotiated by Biden's team.

"The Biden administration is not going out there finding those trade opportunities," Ricketts said.

There was no talk about Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump's plan to add more tariffs on imported goods. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., briefly addressed tariffs, saying, "I'll just say I'm not a huge fan of tariffs, but they have to be a tool in the toolbox."

Trump last week called for 20% tariffs on imports to retaliate against other countries for unfair trade practices. During his first term as president, Trump launched a trade war against China that led both countries to increase tariffs, and China stopped buying U.S. agricultural goods. The Trump administration offset low commodity prices with $23 billion in subsidies through the Market Facilitation Program.

Smith pointed to the lack of any trade agreements under Biden, and the administration's key initiative, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which lacks some of the key mechanisms of a trade agreement.

"It has no enforcement. It doesn't talk about anything with tariffs and market access," Smith said.

Gregg Doud, former U.S. chief agricultural negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, and Kip Tom, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, each were critical of how the Biden administration has handled trade talks.

Doud, now CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, noted the political capital it takes to negotiate a trade deal, which includes seeking Trade Promotion Authority from Congress -- a move the Biden team did not take. Doud said trade negotiations need to become more strategic going forward.

"We need to rethink this a little bit and think how we can dial into specific countries and markets," he said.

China, meanwhile, has broadened its trade initiative, the Belt Road, to expand trade routes. Doud said a lot of countries have felt pressured to participate with China due to the lack of U.S. initiative.

"And these countries are coming to the United States and saying 'We'd rather do business with you,'" Doud said.

Tom, who still farms in Indiana, said he is concerned about how the U.S. has outsourced a lot of products, such as relying on imports for roughly 70% of agricultural chemicals -- with a large share of those products now coming from China.

Nebraska rancher Rusty Kemp, who is an investor in the Sustainable Beef packing plant being built in North Platte, Nebraska, also recalled a reception in the United Kingdom where officials were trying to get trade talks started with the U.S. "They say the Biden administration won't even answer their calls. That's frustrating," Kemp said.

U.S. agricultural exports reached a record at $195 billion in 2022, due in part to Trump's Phase I Agreement with China that required China to buy more U.S. products.

The value of agricultural exports fell to $174 billion in 2023. Through the first six months of the year, trade is down about $1.6 billion compared to last year.

The U.S. is looking at its third straight year with an agricultural trade deficit. Imports are up $6.8 billion in the first six months of the year. Agricultural imports topped $199 billion in 2022 and $195 billion in 2023.

Smith also criticized Biden officials for taking more than two years to try to resolve the issue of biotech corn exports to Mexico, an issue that also was addressed in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) reached under Trump.

Doud replied, "Part of the problem here in Mexico isn't Mexico hasn't really done anything yet." He added, "This is a very highly charged political issue with white corn," saying it is a populist move by Mexican officials.

Smith said the U.S. corn issue would be resolved already if Biden simply spoke about it. "There's nothing like a president taking a podium anywhere," he said, saying Biden has made a choice not to raise the issue himself.

"That's frustrating for me as a representative for a lot of producers affected by this," Smith said.

While the debate in Mexico currently centers on white corn for food, Mexico remains the largest buyer of U.S. corn overall with 20.7 million metric tons of imports this marketing year, up 31% from a year ago.

REGULATORY ISSUES

Speaking on regulations and environmental law were Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.V., the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Public Works Committee, and Andrew Wheeler, the EPA administrator under Trump.

Capito said the contrast between the Trump and Biden terms is the Biden officials continue to write rules outside the boundaries set by Congress in law.

"If they don't get everything they want in the law, they will regulate outside of that," she said. Capito added, "The Supreme Court has agreed this administration has overreached."

Wheeler noted the Trump administration had a policy that agencies had to eliminate two existing regulations for every new one they created. That hasn't been the case under Biden. "This administration doesn't have a regulation it didn't like and didn't want to expand."

Pointing to the Biden EPA's latest Clean Power Plan rule, Capito said, "It will basically close every coal-fired power plant in the country" unless the plant has some way to capture and store carbon. She then highlighted the increase in demand, including more need to power electric vehicles.

"Our demand for electricity is going up while the administration is putting regulations in that is going to hamper our ability to meet that demand," Capito said. She later added, "I'm not against renewables or anything of that nature, but you have got to have common sense."

Drawing on criticism over the push under Biden for more renewable energy and reducing the footprint of fossil fuels, Tom said there is a cost to producers such as Nebraska farmers who rely on electric-powered center-pivots.

"The policies from the Biden-Harris administration, and the Harris-Walz administration if they are elected, will come in and really slow our competitiveness in the world market," Tom said.

Wheeler said the Biden administration is following the lead of "radical environmental groups" that don't want people to own cars. He also said U.S. infrastructure doesn't support the conversion. The rules under Biden would boost the sales of EVs in 2032 because of emission rules.

"We don't have rare earth minerals, battery facilities or electric transmission line projects," Wheeler said. "From start to finish, we don't have a plan in place to get two-thirds of our vehicles by 2032."

Capito noted Congress gave the Biden administration $7.5 billion to build electric charging stations. So far, just eight charging stations have been built using those federal dollars.

Chuck Woodside, CEO of KAPPA Ethanol, a producer-owned plant in Kearney, Nebraska, also pointed to problems with EPA getting its renewable volume obligations (RVOs) out on time. As well, there are some frustrations over ethanol, given that Brazil maintains tariffs on U.S. ethanol, but the U.S. continues to allow Brazilian imports to California.

Woodside said he is worried about the 45Z Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit and how those rules will come out. The 40B rule for Sustainable Aviation Fuel that came out earlier this year is considered unworkable by biofuel producers and farm groups.

"The last thing we want to see is them come back with the same kind of regulations for the 45Z," Woodside said.

Also see "Ag Secretary Vilsack Promotes Ethanol as Key to Sustainable Aviation Fuel Amid Policy Debates" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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