‘A Significant Win’: Ag Leaders Applaud Trade Deals with Indonesia, Japan, and Australia

Agriculture industry leaders expressed optimism following the announcement of multiple trade pacts and updated trade frameworks this week. Since President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on many U.S. trading partners, trade negotiations have been underway with multiple countries. The announcements this week included Indonesia, Japan, and Australia.

These were the details specific to ag products:

1. Indonesia will “address and prevent barriers to U.S. agricultural products in the Indonesian market,” according to a White House fact sheet. That includes buying around $4.5 billion of soybeans, soybean meal, wheat, and cotton. Indonesia is already the U.S.’s fifth largest soybean trading partner by volume, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
2. Japan will buy $8 billion of U.S. goods, including corn, soybeans, fertilizer, bioethanol, and sustainable aviation fuel, and increase import quotas for U.S. rice by 75%.
3. Australia will ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports, accepting shipments of fresh and frozen U.S. beef for the first time in 20 years. 

“I’m doing a little celebration,” said Cassandra Kuball, Vice President at Torrey Advisory Group, on the Indonesia agreement. “It’s great to see something come to fruition and give us a sense of what is able to, hopefully, be accomplished.”

“We appreciate President Trump and his administration’s efforts in maintaining market access for U.S. soybeans into Indonesia, and the commitment from the United States Trade Representative to address non-tariff barriers in that market,” Caleb Ragland, American Soybean Association President and a Kentucky soybean farmer, said in a statement. “We look forward to future deals like this that reduce tariffs and ensure continued and increased market access for U.S. agriculture.”

“This looks like it will be a significant win for U.S. dairy. We commend the Trump administration for securing an agreement that should deliver real benefits for our dairy farmers,” said Gregg Doud, President and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF). “We are pleased to hear this framework removes roadblocks to trade and will help grow dairy sales in one of the world’s most populous markets. NMPF looks forward to reviewing the details of the agreement and working with the administration to ensure Indonesia upholds its end of the bargain.”

In response to the announcement, Illinois farmer and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Kenneth Hartman, Jr. made the following statement:

“We appreciate the work that the administration has dedicated to brokering a deal with Japan, worth $2.7 billion, and we welcome today’s announcement. Japan is the second-largest market for U.S. corn exports, and we support any effort to expand the purchase of corn and corn products, like ethanol. U.S. corn growers produce an abundant crop year in and year out, and NCGA has long advocated for increased access to foreign markets, which will support American farmers and rural economies.”  

“With this trade deal, President Trump has further solidified the importance of Japan as a market for high-quality U.S. rice,” said USA Rice President and CEO Peter Bachmann. “Japan is consistently among our top export markets in terms of both value and volume, but this will be the first opportunity since the 1990s to further that market access. We thank the President for continuing to prioritize additional rice market access throughout the negotiating process and we look forward to working with our Japanese counterparts on the implementation of the agreement.”

“For 20 years, U.S. beef was denied access to Australia while Australia exported $29 billion of beef to U.S. consumers. The lack of two-way, science-based trade has been a sticking point for many years, and we are pleased that President Trump has successfully opened the Australian market to American beef,” National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President and Nebraska cattleman Buck Wehrbein said. “NCBA has spent decades working to correct this trade imbalance and we are proud to have a President who is willing to fight for American farmers and ranchers, expand export markets, and fix unfair trade agreements across the world.”

“The United States is the gold standard for safe and delicious beef, and we have some of the highest animal health and food safety standards in the world,” NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus added. “Opening the Australian market to American beef will benefit our producers at home, while also offering Australian consumers the opportunity to enjoy our high-quality beef.”

EDIJTOR’S TAKE:

As we have written in past issues of the AIR, it’s not just the tariffs but, in many instances, it is more about how the non-tariff barriers impact trading relations. All of these agreements appear to address both tariff and non-tariff issues and should lead to significant market access and expansion for U.S. agricultural goods. This can provide a real financial boost to U.S. producers over an extended period of time. Good news! Now the key is making sure everyone follows through on their commitments.

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