From November 04, 2022 post.
This week, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, helped introduce bipartisan legislation to expand programs to develop new markets and business opportunities for American agricultural goods.
The Supporting Market Access to Reinvigorate Trade (SMART) Act of 2022, would double the amount of funding to at least $400 million per fiscal year for the Market Access Program (MAP) and at least $69 million per fiscal year for the Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program. The increase in funding would ensure American products are promoted in primary and secondary markets, providing access to new markets for farmers seeking to export products.
“Iowa farmers produce some of the highest quality products that feed and fuel the world,” said Rep. Axne. “Through further investment in the successful Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program, producers will have access to new markets that will enable them to continue to compete globally against foreign competitors. Iowa is the second largest exporter of agricultural goods and these programs directly benefit farmers and support rural communities across the state.”
Iowa exported over 14 billion dollars worth of agricultural goods in 2021, second largest amount of exports by state. These markets are critical to farmers and rural communities and reports have estimated that by doubling funding for the MAP and FMD program, agricultural exports nationwide would increase by over $7 billion.
Rep. Axne has been a consistent supporter of increasing opportunity for Iowa farmers through robust trade policies. Axne was a strong supporter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and helped secure its passage in 2019.
In August, Rep. Axne convened a roundtable with farmers and stakeholders with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss trade policies and ways to increase opportunities for Iowa farmers. The MAP and FMD programs were raised as important programs to expand export markets.
The SMART Act is led by Rep. Jim Costa (CA-16) and has 5 additional original co-sponsors including U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Kim Schrier (WA-08), Tracey Mann (KS-01), and Ashley Hinson (IA-01).
Original source can be found here
