As preparations for spring planting begin, Iowa producers are in limbo regarding uncertainty on the role the United States will play in trade with China, wrote U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) in a Jan. 25 letter sent to President Joe Biden.
“We are at a critical moment in determining the future of agriculture trade, and we urge your administration to forcefully reengage in talks for new trade agreements; further engage with China to hold them accountable; and, give certainty to our farmers that their products will continue to be sold to our trading partners across the world,” wrote Sen. Ernst and her colleague, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), both members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee.
Last fall, China formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Now that the Phase One agreement with China has ended, Sen. Ernst and Sen. Grassley told President Biden that failing to engage in additional trade agreement options like the CPTPP could put the nation at risk of losing crucial market access to the Chinese, according to their letter.
“While it is true that China failed to live up to their agriculture purchases from the Phase One agreement, the purchases they did make surpassed agriculture exports in 2017. This resulted in a record $172.2 billion in agriculture exports in 2021, and in turn measurable increases in commodity prices for Iowa farmers,” the senators wrote.
Sen. Ernst and Sen. Grassley also noted that while a multitude of non-tariff barriers exist, they nonetheless want the president to continue to engage with China and seek an additional agreement that includes target purchases of U.S. agriculture products in the coming years.
“An additional agreement that includes targeted purchases can capture the volume missed from the Phase One agreement and give assurances to the farmers of Iowa,” they wrote.