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.
