Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees, joined Republican farm-state senators in urging U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to prioritize market access initiatives as part of America’s trade agenda.
“Advancing U.S. economic interests – particularly in the Indo-Pacific region – requires meaningful and enforceable market access commitments,” the senators wrote. “We are concerned that the Biden administration is foregoing America’s trade and strategic leadership by failing to pursue such commitments, whether through its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) or through its decision not to pursue comprehensive free trade agreements, which was reflected in the President’s 2022 Trade Policy Agenda. The lack of ambitious market-opening initiatives not only disadvantages U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses today, it jeopardizes America’s competitiveness, resilience, and security in the long-term.”
The lawmakers argue that advocating for additional market access opportunities has helped the U.S. bolster farm and food exports – growing from $46.1 billion in 1994 to more than $177 billion in 2021. They express frustration that trade has clearly “taken a backseat” to other issues under the Biden administration.
“We respectfully urge you to include market access and enforceable commitments as part of the IPEF, and any other U.S. trade agreements, and we stand ready to work with you to strengthen American trade leadership,” the senators concluded.
The letter was led by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), and it was also signed by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
Last August, Grassley called on President Biden to immediately appoint qualified individuals to the position of Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the USTR and the role of Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the USDA. In January, after Biden had largely ignored trade during his first year in office, Grassley and Ernst urged Biden to begin tackling trade challenges and to seek new trade agreements in the Indo-Pacific region.
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