Reducing the Trade Deficit
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Rebuilding a trade surplus after years of a trade deficit is no easy task. But the USDA remains committed to the effort because of the value it can bring to U.S. farmers. USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Affairs Luke Lindberg says the department is working to rebuild that surplus through trade missions, product promotion and financing programs.
Lindberg… “ We need to get back to a trade surplus with the world. When we came into office, we had a $50 billion trade deficit. The deficit this year, this government fiscal year, which starts October 1st, is down 61% over last year. And that has really been the result of the three-point plan that the secretary and I launched so our plan has been rapid response trade missions. I've launched and actually led nine trade missions to markets where the president has signed new market access agreements to make sure we turn those agreements on paper into contracts for farm sales. We also put out $166 million of new funding to agriculture farmer-led organizations that help promote our products all around the world, like the Washington Apple Commission and the US Soybean Export Council, the US Meat Export Federation, the Wine Institute, out there helping promote our products all around the world. Then we also fixed a financing tool that USDA has that's designed to ensure that if any foreign buyer wants to buy American, they have the financing they need to do so.”
Lindberg says these financing programs play a key role in helping USDA expand into emerging export markets.
