Agricultural Retailers Association: American industry needs a predictable trade policy

By W. Daren Coppock, ARA President & CEO

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) understands and supports the desire of the Trump Administration to stop unfair trading practices in the global marketplace that lead to artificial advantages or trade imbalances.  Some of the countries singled out by President Trump have long patterns of putting their proverbial thumbs on the scale to the disadvantage of US producers and exporters.

However, global supply chains cannot adjust overnight, nor can they function in a tariff environment that is unpredictable. It takes years to build new production capacity anywhere in the world. It takes time to wind down contracts with current suppliers and change to new ones, and for the manufacturing capacity to adjust accordingly. Any company that deploys capital needs to have a business environment that can be predicted over the life of that investment.

Many of the products and ingredients that are used in agricultural inputs in the United States are only available in commercial quantities from offshore sources. Immediate-effect tariffs that allow no adjustment period to complete current contracts and arrange for new supply sources will only result in higher costs and less product availability for US farmers in the short term. Likewise, damage to export market relationships from bilateral tariff escalations would likely be severe and long-lasting.

To provide needed certainty for farmers and the retailers who serve them, ARA calls on Congress and Administration to support:

• Urgent passage of a new Farm Bill and pro-growth tax policies;

• Increasing domestic energy production in all forms;

• Expanded opportunities for domestically produced biofuels through policy incentives, year-round E-15, sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel;

• Regulatory reform to speed up infrastructure and resource development projects such as maintenance for locks and dams and new mines for critical minerals.  The list of critical minerals needs to include phosphate and potash;

• Pragmatic policy regarding foreign shipbuilding subsidies that will not impede access to transportation for US agricultural trade.

ARA appreciates the arrangements that have been provided for certain agricultural inputs.   Notably, products from Canada and Mexico that comply with United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), such as Canadian potash remain tariff-free. The 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs allows everyone to take a breath and will hopefully lead to a period of extended stability and improved market access. ARA supports free trade that enables domestic manufacturing, does not impede access to multiple sources of supply, meets the needs of American agriculture, and ensures a stable supply chain.