Jason Smith: Standing up for Missouri farmers, ranchers and workers

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith) 

From his very first day in office, President Donald Trump has been hard at work advancing his America First trade agenda. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade, I am incredibly grateful to have such a great ally in the fight to advance policies that put American workers, farmers, and businesses first. 

In fact, trade is the most frequent topic President Trump brings up in the numerous phone calls and meetings I have had with him. His approach to trade is the exact opposite of his predecessor, who was completely out to lunch when it came to America’s trade relationships.

President Joe Biden’s failure to stand up for America’s farmers, ranchers, and workers resulted in the United States’ average agriculture trade surplus of over $5.2 billion – that we saw in President Trump’s first term – plummet to an unprecedented $32 billion trade deficit. Americans also suffered because the Biden administration would negotiate fake trade deals that did not have the force of law or enforcement mechanisms. In addition, the Biden administration let other nations get away with failing to honor the commitments they made in trade deals like the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, whether it was Canada not buying U.S. dairy products or Mexico refusing to purchase U.S. grown corn. The bottom line is that our farmers, ranchers, and workers could not count on President Biden to fight for trade policies that put them first.

In Congress and from my position on the Ways and Means Committee, it has been a mission of mine to provide the leadership Americans so desperately needed when it comes to trade. I traveled to Thailand to confront officials about their 50 percent tariff on U.S. beef and met with European Union (EU) leaders to voice my frustration over the fact that the United States exports more pork to Honduras, a country with 10 million people, than it does to the entire EU, which has over 400 million people. Two years ago, after Mexico effectively blocked American corn from being sold in its country, I went to Mexico and directly told then-Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that his country’s refusal to purchase American corn was unacceptable. These are just a few examples of the dozens of meetings I have had with foreign leaders to urge them to buy more Missouri agriculture products, whether it is beef, pork, soybeans, rice, and more.

Thankfully, the Trump administration’s America First trade agenda is delivering win after win. The trade deal he secured with the United Kingdom removes that nation’s 20 percent tariff on U.S. beef, a major victory for our cattle ranchers. And while the details of President Trump’s new trade deal with Vietnam have not been released, I am confident it will create new opportunities for U.S. agriculture. At a recent Ways and Means Committee hearing, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, confirmed that the Trump administration is making sure better treatment for our farmers and ranchers is a priority in any new trade deal with the EU. But the fight for American farmers, ranchers, and workers is far from over: more than 75 nations have reached out to the Trump administration to discuss removing market barriers for U.S. goods and improving access for U.S. made and grown products.







President Trump is also doing an incredible job in fighting back against Washington Democrats’ global tax scheme, which would allow foreign nations to hit U.S. companies with unfair taxes that would kill jobs, hurt workers, and cost our government at least $120 billion. Thanks to President Trump’s advocacy and a provision originally included in The One, Big, Beautiful Bill that I helped write, we were finally able to defeat the Washington Democrat-backed global tax scheme.

Southeast and south-central Missouri is home to the best farmers and ranchers in the world. But these hardworking men and women lost out on significant economic opportunities because of the Biden administration’s non-existent trade agenda. Thankfully, President Trump is working around the clock to undo the damage caused by President Biden. As chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over trade, I will continue working closely with President Trump to advance his America First trade agenda.