Friday, May 12, 2017

U.S. adds a trade executive


United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue plans to establish an undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs as part of a reorganization of the department.

“We've got producers here that produce more than we can consume,” Perdue said in a statement. “Our people in American agriculture have shown they can grow it, and we’re here to sell it in markets all around the world.”

The Foreign Agricultural Service will be situated under the new undersecretary for trade, Perdue said. The undersecretary for trade will work alongside the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

They will be involved in the upcoming negotiations for a new North American Free Trade Agreement, one that has Canada’s dairy and poultry industries worried that they may have to either give up more of their market share or lower prices or both.

Perdue also announced the creation of a farm production and conservation mission area, which will focus on domestic agricultural issues. The Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service will be housed under this domestically oriented undersecretary, Perdue said.