By Clint Thompson and Dale Sandlin
Seasonal imports of fresh fruits and vegetables remain a concern for Southeast producers. The concern was even a focus of a Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association letter to the Office of the USTR amid the USMCA review.
AgNet Media’s Dale Sandlin interviewed Luke Lindberg, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, about numerous topics, including the administration’s focus regarding trade and decreasing the trade deficit.
“The president’s been very clear that the America First Trade Agenda supports domestic producers of products across a range of things; whether that’s in the agriculture space or in other sectors of manufacturing,” Lindberg said.
“We’re continuing to work to make sure that the trade deficit remains a key focus and metric for us. Right now we’re forecast to have reduced the trade deficit pretty significantly over last year. This time, January of last year, we were forecasting a $50 billion trade deficit which was left to us from the Biden Administration. This year in January, we’re forecasting a $37 billion trade deficit. We’re $13 billion better off on the deficit than last year. Part of that is, we’re anticipating fewer imports coming in and more domestic grown products being consumed right here in America.”
An agricultural trade deficit signifies that the U.S. imports more farm products than it exports. According to American Farm Bureau, the negative trade gap for agriculture reached $31.8 billion in FY 2024. Much of that deficit centers on horticulture products.