Vaden Talks to American Sugar Alliance

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (DTN) -- The top officials who run the U.S. sugar program will stay in Washington after the Trump administration reorganizes the Agriculture Department, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden told DTN on Monday.

After giving a speech to the American Sugar Alliance's International Sweetener Symposium in Traverse City, Michigan, Vaden said in a brief interview top officials would stay in Washington but officials who implement the program may be in the five hubs where USDA intends to move 2,600 of the 4,600 positions now in the Washington area.

He pointed out 2,000 USDA employees will remain in the Washington area and said farmers who come to Washington fly-ins will have plenty of officials to meet.

During the speech, Vaden said, "USDA remains committed to operating our sugar program at no cost to the taxpayers, and we're focused on preventing forfeitures at all costs."

"And that's why every action that we're taking is within the 'America first' and 'farmers first' philosophy.

"You saw a taste of that a little earlier, when the department announced that we were going to set the tariff rate quota for specialty sugar at the minimum required by our trade agreements, and not one gram more."

DEFENDING REORGANIZATION PLANS

Vaden vigorously defended the Trump administration's reorganization plan that includes closing the South Building, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and two other facilities.

He repeated previous statements that the facilities to be closed in the Washington area have backlogs of maintenance and it makes no sense for the taxpayers to maintain them. The South Building, he noted, was constructed in the 1930s and has "nice" architecture, but it does not fit with USDA's needs today. President Trump, he noted, promised to move the bureaucracy out of Washington and USDA is fulfilling that promise.

Vaden repeated previous statements that the five USDA hubs -- Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah -- were chosen because the cost of living is low in those cities, which will allow USDA to attract a younger workforce.

Scientists have complained for years about working conditions at the Beltsville center, he noted, but he added those facilities will be closed over a number of years. No facility engaged in research on cane or beet sugar will be closed, he said.

In a wide-ranging speech, Vaden praised the reconciliation bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, particularly for making certain tax provisions permanent, including the estate tax.

45Z TAX CREDIT DEBATE

Vaden also praised a provision in the bill that in 2026 restricts the use of the 45Z Clean Fuel Production tax credits to producers from North America.

"It blew my mind when I was a federal judge listening to Secretary Rollins' predecessor explaining why subsidizing Chinese oil producers was a good idea," he said.

Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, he said, "was the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, not the commissar for the People's Republic of China."

Vaden seemed to be referring to a speech that Vilsack gave at a Growth Energy Biofuels Summit in September 2024 in which he noted the Chinese had reduced their imports of American agricultural products and conversations about banning imported feedstocks should take into consideration what the reaction might be.

Vilsack told DTN in an email that Vaden's characterization was "not an accurate description of what I said."

"Nobody was more supportive of 45Z for American farmers than I was and am," Vilsack said.

Vilsack instead asked, "What is the current status of 45Z and the interim rule we got through the system before I left at USDA and where is the Treasury Guidance on the use of that interim rule to enable our farmers to benefit from SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel)?

"Rather than wasting time and energy taking shots at a prior administration, would it be better for our farmers and producers and the airline industry to use that time to advocate for the Treasury Department to finish the guidance on 45Z?" Vilsack said.

TARIFFS AND BRAZIL

While some farm leaders have expressed concerns the tariffs President Trump has imposed on other countries will lead them to retaliate by reducing U.S. farm imports, Vaden said Trump's use of tariffs has brought other countries to the negotiating table and the administration also asks what these countries are going to do for American farmers.

Vaden said "some of the smarter" countries come to Washington with proposals to buy U.S. farm products.

He noted that, while some of Trump's tariffs have been subject to court challenges because they are based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the administration has launched an unfair trade practices investigation of Brazil under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which is legally secure.

Vaden urged the sugar industry to take an active role in the Brazil investigation.

"I don't have to tell you that when Brazil expands its agricultural footprint, it always comes at the expense of the Amazon rainforest," Vaden said.

If harm is found, tariffs do not need to be the only remedy so "if there are other actions that you and our other friends in the agricultural community believe might be more helpful than tariffs, it is not only entirely appropriate, but it is the time for you to tell us now, when you submit your comments to the Trade Representative's Office of additional remedies that you think could be helpful in regard to our relations with Brazil," he said.

Vaden noted the International Trade Commission will hold a hearing on Brazil in September and urged the sugar growers to show up in person at that hearing.

MAHA AND SUGAR

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who chairs the Make America Healthy Again Commission, has called sugar "poison," but Vaden said the update of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans "will focus primarily on protein-rich foods, fruits and vegetables, whole grains."

He said, "Added sugars have long been a part of the conversation, but this industry, from the grower to your nutrition teams, have done a phenomenal job in sharing the facts with the necessary policy makers. I want you to keep at what you do."

e of the things that it's important to keep in mind, is that for everything this administration does, no harm must come to America's farm and rural communities," Vaden said.

"The best way that we can ensure Americans are healthy and well taken care of is to ensure that as much as possible of what they eat is grown here in the United States of America. We have the most efficient, the most sustainable, and the safest food supply the world has ever seen."

Also see, "USDA Accepting Feedback on Reorganization Plan," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

Follow him on social platform X @hagstromreport

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