Latest news with #GraceYarrow
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Soothing farm groups' MAHA tensions
QUICK FIX — White House officials are meeting with farm groups after weeks of backlash to a Make America Healthy Again Commission report that targeted pesticides. — Employees who left USDA will be allowed to come back to help fight fires this summer. — The Senate is looking to unveil a scaled-back version of the House GOP-led reconciliation agriculture plans this week. HAPPY MONDAY, JUNE 9. Welcome to Morning Agriculture. I'm your host Grace Yarrow. Send tips to gyarrow@ Follow us at @Morning_Ag for more. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. Driving the day HEALING MAHA WOUNDS: The White House is setting up meetings this week to discuss farm groups' concerns with a recent Make America Healthy Again report that targeted pesticides, according to two people familiar with the plans. Officials will meet with several groups at a time across the commodity, food manufacturing and pesticide industries for hour-long conversations, said the people, who were granted anonymity to share further details. The meeting invitations come after farm groups spent the last few weeks aggressively lobbying the Trump administration to open up public comment and gather industry input privately before releasing its final list of MAHA policy recommendations, which is due in August. One agriculture industry insider, granted anonymity so they could candidly share their thoughts, said that it's 'not clear' how this effort will influence the final recommendations. 'We're all very interested to see how these meetings play out over the next week and if it is a meaningful gesture or not,' the person said. 'Is this just an exercise in placating stakeholders?' How we got here: Groups that have kept quiet in the face of President Donald Trump's tariff plans and funding cuts drew the line at supporting HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA Commission report, which targets the use of glyphosate and atrazine, according to industry representatives and former and current administration officials, granted anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes tensions. The initial report, which came out in May, only briefly mentions that glyphosate and atrazine — two of the most widely used herbicides — could lead to adverse health impacts, and it notes that federal reviews of data have not established a direct link. But groups are nevertheless worried that the report could create the impression that U.S.-produced food products aren't safe. 'American agriculture does not feel sufficiently protected against government mandates that would outlaw chemicals they need,' said one agriculture advocate granted anonymity to share concerns about the administration's work. 'How do we know that the nanny-state side of RFK Jr.'s agenda isn't going to show itself?' The White House didn't respond to a request for comment about the meetings, but spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement earlier Friday that the MAHA Commission will 'continue to engage with stakeholders' as it drafts next steps. 'President Trump's initiative to Make America Healthy Again is a bottom-up movement, with stakeholders across the board — including farmers, everyday parents, local governments, and family physicians — having a role to play,' Desai said. A former Biden administration official, granted anonymity to discuss the private lobbying efforts, said farmers 'basically instinctively trust Trump' on tariff and other agricultural policies, but don't have the same belief in Kennedy. 'They think [Trump] has a master plan and that ultimately it will all work out,' the person said. 'That is not the feeling about this report.' Read more from your host here. AROUND THE AGENCIES SMOKEY BEAR BACKUP: Forest Service employees who accepted President Donald Trump's offer to resign will still be allowed to take on wildfire assignments this summer, according to a new agency memo obtained by our Jordan Wolman. The announcement comes as the U.S. barrels toward fire season and as officials around the country worry about the Forest Service's ability to staff response efforts now that thousands of employees have been fired from or have quit their posts under the Trump administration. More details: The option to return to fire assignments is targeted at employees who held some wildland-fighting qualifications, known as 'red cards.' Interested workers can register for fire assignments through Sept. 30, the expiration date for their administrative leave under the deferred resignation program, according to the memo. 'Many employees enrolled in the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) expressed willingness to perform critical wildfire operations before their employment term ends,' the memo said. Forest Service and USDA officials worked to 'develop a solution that will allow employees on administrative leave to temporarily return to active service.' The memo outlines procedures for these workers to follow, including a call to bring their personal devices and computers 'to operate self-sufficiently' and to ensure dispatch centers have their personal contact information. The workers will be able to expense any flights, hotels or rental cars necessary for their fire assignments with proper approvals. 'Secretary [Brooke] Rollins has made it a top priority for the Department to ensure the entire agency is geared to respond to what is already an above normal summer fire season,' USDA spokesperson Alec Varsamis said in a statement when asked for further details. On The Hill LATEST IN SNAP CLASHES: The Senate Ag Committee is looking to release plans for their version of agriculture spending cuts to pay for farm bill programs and Republicans' policy megabill. They're looking to hit $150 billion in net cuts, and will need $220 billion in spending slashes to pay for $70 billion in farm bill programs. Several senators have privately raised concerns with the House's proposal to cut federal spending by forcing states to foot more of the bill for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Also this week: The Senate will vote to proceed with the confirmation process for Stephen Vaden to be deputy secretary at USDA. TRADE CORNER VIETNAM'S AG DEALS: Vietnam's agriculture officials announced plans to buy $3 billion in U.S. agricultural products after meeting with American ag leaders last week, which could give producers up to a 23 percent boost in exports to the Southeast Asian country. Do Duc Duy, Vietnam's minister of agriculture and environment, led a delegation of 50 ag agencies and organizations to Iowa, Ohio, Maryland and Washington, D.C., last week. Stepping back: Rollins is scheduled to visit Vietnam in the coming months on one of her overseas trade missions. Ag groups and lobbyists are especially watching her meetings in Vietnam and India, hoping for more opportunities in the two countries for high-value products like meat and ethanol. The U.S. had a $123.5 billion trade deficit with Vietnam in 2024. U.S. goods exported to Vietnam last year were valued at $13.1 billion. NEXT UP: The U.S. and China will hold their next round of trade talks in London on Monday as the two countries attempt to lower tensions and chart a path toward a trade deal, our Daniel Desrochers writes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Trump said Friday in a post on Truth Social. Row Crops — Eggs linked to a salmonella outbreak have made dozens of people sick in seven states in the West and Midwest. (The Associated Press) — Archaeologists in northern Michigan have uncovered what is likely the largest intact remains of an ancient Native American agricultural site in the eastern half of the U.S. (NPR) — ICYMI: Some Senate Republicans are angling to have their states reap benefits from Rollins' plan to spread more department employees across the country, our Samuel Benson reports. THAT'S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line and send us your agriculture job announcements or events: gyarrow@ marciabrown@ jwolman@ sbenson@ rdugyala@ and gmott@
Politico
05-03-2025
- Business
- Politico
Republicans squirm as Trump's tariffs come for their states
By and Grace Yarrow Updated: Republicans in Washington have spent weeks dismissing concerns about President Donald Trump's tariffs or arguing they're just a negotiating tactic. But now with major tariffs kicking in on the country's two largest trade partners, some are starting to publicly worry. 'I'm concerned,' Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said of the 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico that went into effect Tuesday after midnight. 'I'm concerned.' 'Uneasy, I think, is a word,' said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). They and dozens of other GOP lawmakers represent states with major agriculture industries that are among the first targets of trade retaliation from Ottawa and Mexico City. The Canadian government has already disclosed more than $20 billion worth of U.S. goods it plans to slap with higher tariffs, including food products such as poultry, beef, fish and yogurt. The fallout for ag producers, a traditionally conservative-leaning industry, will be severe. And it's prompting Republicans in those states to take on an uncomfortable position in the party right now — questioning, albeit quietly, a major plank of Trump's agenda. The agriculture industry lost $26 billion from retaliatory tariffs in 2018 and 2019 — the first time Trump launched a trade war — according to the Agriculture Department, with soybean, sorghum and pork producers facing the biggest losses. While USDA stepped in with billions in direct payments to farmers to help them weather the fallout, that funding may be harder to access in Trump's second term, as the administration seeks to cut federal spending. USDA's Commodity Credit Corp., the agency's internal bank that the first Trump administration tapped to compensate farmers, is running low on funding. And it may be hard to sell Trump officials on a new infusion of cash for the fund at the same time they are slashing spending elsewhere, warned former Trump trade official Ronald Baumgarten, former senior director in the U.S. Trade Representative's Office of Agricultural Affairs. 'If you're trying to shrink government, you certainly don't want to enlarge the subsidies,' said Baumgarten, who served under both President Barack Obama and Trump. But a number of Republicans said Monday night they were confident the Trump administration would find a way to compensate farmers who lose money and market share from the newly launched trade wars. 'We're going to keep our guys in the game,' said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), while acknowledging he was concerned about the short-term impact of the tariffs. 'I'm going to work hard to do that. And that's why we've got to separate short term and long term. The long-term goal is to get better terms for our guys.' Trump on Monday appeared to acknowledge the rising fears in farm country, addressing 'the Great Farmers of the United States,' in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. 'Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States,' he wrote. 'Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!' According to the White House, Trump was referring to the so-called reciprocal tariffs he plans to levy on countries around the world on April 2, which the White House says it will calculate based on the tariffs and trade barriers those countries apply to U.S. goods. But the economic reality isn't that simple. Agricultural exports have become an increasingly important revenue source for American farmers over the past 25 years, surging from $57.3 billion in 1998 to $174 billion in 2023, according to the Agriculture Department. Consumers rely on imports from trading partners like Mexico and Canada to have access to specialty crops like seasonal fruits and vegetables, spirits and beer. And farmers require imports of materials like potash, a mineral used to make fertilizer, and steel or plastic for farm machinery and equipment, which are not produced in large enough quantities within the U.S. to meet the domestic demand. 'You cannot export a potash mine,' said Jamie Tronnes, the executive director of the Center for North American Prosperity and Security, a group that pushes for stronger ties between the U.S. and Canada. 'It's in the ground [in Canada]. You can't just get it.' Powerful agriculture lobbying groups and GOP lawmakers have said they're counting on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to stand up for agriculture interests in Cabinet discussions and bail out producers caught in the crosshairs of Trump's tariff battles. Rollins promised the Senate Agriculture Committee during her confirmation hearing that she would 'bring in new trade partners' and 'expand access' for U.S. farmers to foreign markets. The concerns farm-state Republicans raised about Trump's new round of tariffs Monday night are hardly deafening, and frequently were followed by statements of support for the president's broader trade goals. 'I'm a farmer in real life, too,' said Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.). 'It is something we'll all have to weather, but ultimately the proceeds from the tariffs, he's funneling a lot of that right back to agriculture. I think it's kind of 'wait and see' a little bit as to how it plays out. It's not terrible, you know, I mean, you hear a lot of concern out there, and a lot of times concerns are 'what-ifs' that never really come about.' Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said he wasn't worried about the tariffs at all, arguing that it was part of a total package that would ultimately make things better for farmers. 'It's not in a vacuum,' Schmitt said. 'I think if you combine the reduction of government spending with energy outputs, that we're actually going to be in a much better spot.' But for a party that spent much of the past month expressing widespread confidence in Trump's ability to make a deal, and insisting the threat of tariffs was largely a negotiating ploy, even the mild doubts voiced by some lawmakers represented a shift in rhetoric. Democrats, desperately searching for a political message since the November elections, are already sensing an opportunity to hammer Republicans on the economic fallout. The stock markets slipped Tuesday morning on the trade news, and are lower than when Trump took office in January. Overall consumer sentiment declined in February. And inflation is holding steady. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) pointed out that Trump campaigned on lowering prices after years of stubborn inflation and high housing costs. Instead, many are bracing to pay more. 'The president should be focused on lowering costs,' Peters said. 'He said he was going to lower inflation, and through these tariffs he's actually going to increase inflation and hurt American families.' Trump narrowly won Michigan in November, part of his sweep across the manufacturing-heavy swing states in the Upper Midwest. But the impact of tariffs on the state's automobile and agriculture industries, which are heavily dependent upon trade with Canada and Mexico, could give Democrats there an opening with voters. Trump's newly installed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 'said he wants to bring manufacturing back to this country,' said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.). 'He wants to bring supply chains. I want to work with him, but let's do it in a way that's not going to do irreparable harm.'
