Coalition Says Free Trade Hurt US Agriculture
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a think tank aligned with Trump's trade policy, issued a new report on agricultural trade, arguing that policies that aimed to lower U.S. tariffs in exchange for better market access for U.S. agricultural exports almost exclusively benefited soybeans, corn and wheat, while hurting fruit and vegetable farmers and livestock operations.
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"The surge in agricultural imports from Mexico and Canada has flooded U.S. markets with low-priced goods, displacing American farmers and undercutting their ability to compete,” said Andrew Rechenberg, the lead author of the report. "Contrary to the claims by many lawmakers that support free trade and oppose policies like tariffs, the data outlined in our report is clear: free trade policies and pursuing export opportunities have come at a devastating price to both the U.S. agricultural and manufacturing sector."
Rechenberg projected that there would be a $39 billion agricultural trade deficit in 2024, including with $19.5 billion more imported meat and seafood than is exported, $12 billion more imported fruit than is exported and $4.8 billion more imported vegetables than are exported. Those deficits are offset by a $22.7 billion surplus in soybeans and surpluses in corn and wheat.
CPA Chairman Zach Mottl said the report "makes clear that trade liberalization has utterly failed the U.S. agricultural industry in the same way it has failed the U.S. manufacturing sector."
"The tomato trade deficit has risen 43% since 2014, despite the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement with Mexico, which has failed to curb surging imports. This highlights the ineffectiveness of negotiated agreements and underscores the need for hard quotas and tariffs to protect U.S. producers," CPA said.
The coalition noted that the U.S. exported more fruits and vegetables than it imported in the 1970s, linking to a 2016 Congressional Research Services report. That report said that while exports of fruit grew 4% from 1990 through 2015, the imports of fruit grew 7% during that period. Exports of vegetables fell 1% during the period, while imports of vegetables grew 5%.
That CRS report noted that the import share of the market grew in the U.S. as year-round demand for fresh fruits and vegetables increased, and other countries could supply those items when they weren't being grown on American farms.
A much more recent CPS report, from 2023, on fruit and vegetable competition said the off-season availability of fresh produce benefits Americans, and that outside of the Southeast, growers in California and Arizona tend to argue that protecting Florida farmers would harm consumers and farmers in other regions, and "that seasonal imports complement rather than compete with U.S. growing seasons."