The U.S. Senate today confirmed Katherine Tai to serve as U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), overseeing the development and promotion of U.S. trade policy.
In her prior role as Chief Trade Counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, Tai was closely involved in negotiations between the House and USTR to reach an agreement on a U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) implementing bill that received strong bipartisan support in Congress.
For generations, America's farmers and ranchers have built strong trading relationships to help maintain a competitive edge in the global economy and bolster job creation across the United States. Today, exports are responsible for 33 percent of U.S. corn farmers’ income and more than 20 percent of the U.S. corn crop is exported annually when accounting for corn and value-added products like ethanol and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS).
U.S. corn exports for the current marketing year are on track to surpass projections. USDA predicts that 66.04 Million Metric Tons (MMT), or 2.36 billion bushels – of U.S. corn could be exported in the 2020-2021 marketing year. 164 million gallons of ethanol have been exported thus far.
NCGA believes now is the time to build on the momentum of recently secured agreements with existing trade partners and forge new free trade agreements with strategic partners, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, that offer new growth opportunities for U.S. corn and corn product exports.
There are many trade opportunities for U.S. agriculture, along with challenges such as non-tariff trade barriers that impede corn and corn product market access. NCGA congratulates Ambassador Tai on her confirmation and our farmer leaders look forward to working with Ambassador Tai and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to increase international demand for our product.
COVID-19 Resources
NCGA is taking a series of actions to do our part to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the economic fallout it is creating for corn farmers and our customers. Short term, this means instituting policies to protect the health and safety of our stakeholders and the broader communities we serve. Long term, we’re focused on creating solutions to help corn farmers and our customers recover from the financial impacts of this crisis.
CommonGround
CommonGround is a group of farmers connecting with consumers through conversations about science and research and personal stories about food and misinformation surrounding farming. Supported by the NCGA and state corn organizations.
SHP
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health. Administered by NCGA the partnership has more than 220 working farms enrolled in 16 states. SHP’s mission is to utilize science and data to partner with farmers who are adopting conservation agricultural practices that improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the farm.