Pulaski Times

U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, issued a statement following the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) latest outlook projecting a record negative agriculture trade deficit for fiscal year 2025.

“We have entered uncharted territory with the latest projected data on the U.S. agricultural trade deficit," Boozman said. "The Biden-Harris administration is failing our farmers, ranchers and foresters when it comes to maintaining our competitive advantage in the global marketplace."

Boozman emphasized the need for more active engagement from the administration: "The President and his team simply must do more to actively engage and aggressively advocate for our agriculture producers on the world stage. There is just no way around it."

He also called on Congress to take action: "Congress must also step up to the plate and pass a new farm bill that makes a robust investment in USDA’s trade promotion programs. The framework Senate Republicans released doubles funding for the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program, the farm bill’s premier trade promotion programs. This is an excellent place to start. Anything less is yet another step in the wrong direction.”

According to USDA's first U.S. agricultural trade forecast for fiscal year 2025, the agricultural trade deficit is expected to grow from a previous record of negative $30.5 billion in FY 2024 to a new record of negative $42.5 billion. U.S. agricultural exports in FY 2025 are projected at $169.5 billion, down $4 billion from FY 2024 and marking the lowest level since FY 2020, while imports are projected to increase by $8 billion from FY 2024 to reach a record $212 billion.