Ag Exports up 28% per White House

The Biden Administration announced Monday it has secured over $26.7 billion in agricultural market access across the globe for America’s farmers, ranchers, fishers, and food manufacturers.

 
“Trade serves as an economic engine for American agriculture, providing key opportunities for U.S. farmers while also supporting food security throughout the world,” said Secretary Vilsack.

 About 20 percent of all U.S. agricultural production is exported around the world, providing a significant share of producers’ cash receipts. 
 
Recent USDA initiatives include the $1.2 billion Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) to open new markets and strengthen existing ones for U.S. agricultural and food producers and exporters.

Funded through a $65 million set aside from RAPP, USDA also launched the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) initiative to support projects that advance U.S. specialty crop exports by expanding domestic understanding of foreign food safety systems and foreign understanding of U.S. food safety systems.

Recent wins ins for U.S. agricultural producers incllude:  

• Lower tariffs in India for 10 agricultural commodities: apples, frozen duck, frozen chicken, pecans, blueberries, cranberries, chickpeas, lentils, almonds, and walnuts; 
• The ability to ship fresh potatoes to Mexico beyond a 26-kilometer zone along the U.S.-Mexico border after seeking access beyond the border zone since 2003; 
• A new biofuel policy in Japan that allows the United States to compete for up to 100 percent of Japan’s on-road ethanol market; and
• A new agreement revising the beef safeguard mechanism under the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, allowing U.S. beef exporters to more reliably meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality beef.
   

These wins for U.S. agricultural producers helped deliver the four largest annual export values between 2021 and 2024, including a record-high of $196 billion in agricultural exports in 2022.  
 
The four-year average of U.S. agricultural exports is 28.5 percent higher today than when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office.