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Perdue advises caution in U.S.-China trade
Story Date: 2/8/2018
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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/7/18
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Tuesday fielded dozens of questions from members of the House Agriculture Committee, ranging from the administration's efforts to deploy broadband in rural America to potential changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Perhaps not surprising was that trade was on the mind of many lawmakers, including House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway, who started off asking about China's decision over the weekend to launch an investigation into imports of U.S. sorghum.
"This is an example of how fragile the agricultural economy and commodity prices are to trade disruptions," Perdue said, noting how sorghum prices dropped immediately after the news broke that China had opened an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation. "We need to be careful as we take actions."
China's decision is widely regarded as a retaliation to recent U.S. trade actions (though the Chinese government has denied that). The Trump administration imposed tariffs on most imports of solar panels and washing machines. The action on solar products hit China particularly hard because manufacturers based there dominate the market.
Fears realized? The escalating trade dispute highlights how the fears of the U.S. agriculture industry may slowly come to fruition. President Donald Trump's quest to bolster the nation's manufacturing sector may lead trading partners to strike back, and U.S. farm goods are often the first target. More from Pro Ag's Catherine Boudreau here.
Discussing a NAFTA timeline: Perdue also said that the United States, Canada and Mexico could seal a NAFTA deal by December, a bold prediction because trade officials from all three countries have kept their forecasts vague. Perdue said that after Mexico's presidential election in July, progress will be swift (although U.S. congressional midterm elections are in November, further complicating that timeline).
SNAPchat: Beyond trade, Perdue's presence riled up Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House Agriculture subcommittee on nutrition, over his comments on SNAP. McGovern pressed Perdue for assurances that the White House budget for fiscal 2019 -- expected to be unveiled next week - won't again include large cuts to SNAP.
Perdue offered no such commitment. But, he did play along with McGovern's complaints about not having seen the nutrition title of the draft farm bill that Conaway is working on. "That tells me that when it comes out, I won't like it," McGovern said, before telling Perdue to "please get the majority to release the text so we know what we're going to be voting on." Perdue, with a smirk, said he'd speak to Conaway after the hearing.
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