Boozman: Biden-Harris Administration is Failing Farmers and Rural America on Trade

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its latest outlook projecting a record negative agriculture trade deficit for fiscal year 2025.  

“We have entered uncharted territory with the latest projected data on the U.S. agricultural trade deficit.

The Biden-Harris administration is failing our farmers, ranchers and foresters when it comes to maintaining our competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

The President and his team simply must do more to actively engage and aggressively advocate for our agriculture producers on the world stage. There is just no way around it.

Congress must also step up to the plate and pass a new farm bill that makes a robust investment in USDA’s trade promotion programs. The framework Senate Republicans released doubles funding for the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program, the farm bill’s premier trade promotion programs. This is an excellent place to start. Anything less is yet another a step in the wrong direction.”

Background: The first USDA U.S. agricultural trade forecast for fiscal year (FY) 2025 reveals the agricultural trade deficit growing from a previous record of negative $30.5 billion in FY 2024 to a new record of negative $42.5 billion. U.S. agricultural exports in FY 2025 are projected at $169.5 billion, down $4 billion from FY 2024 and the lowest since FY 2020, while imports are projected to grow by $8 billion from FY 2024 to a record $212 billion.