Lighthizer’s Crystal Ball: U.S. Trade Policy Chief Outlines Agricultural Trade Agenda BY PATRICK WADE Policy Director, Texas Grain Sorghum Producers
I doubt I am the only one whose perception of time is increasingly distorted these days. Without the routine of conferences, visiting our members, and board meetings my days have blurred into weeks and my weeks have blurred into months. At a time when so many of us are feeling unmoored, a little perspective can go a long way towards achieving greater clarity about the future. On June 17, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer proffered that perspective for agricultural trade policy with a marathon testimony to Congress about the Trump administration’s trade agenda. Between the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, Ambassador Lighthizer spoke for over seven hours regarding the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) past achievements, current activities, and future priorities. Naturally, this agenda is predicated on the assumption that President Trump is reelected in November. Through this dialogue, American agricultural producers can glean a clearer picture of what is to come with respect to trade agreements and international market access. Concerning the immediate future, Lighthizer spoke to Congress in part about how enforcement of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which entered into effect on July 1, would commence. From a big-picture perspective, the tariff-free flow of U.S. agricultural goods into Mexico and Canada will continue as it has for the past two decades. However, Lighthizer indicated that some of the new provisions secured in the renegotiation may need to be utilized almost immediately. USMCA is the first trade agreement the U.S. has been party to that contains a chapter dedicated to the resolution of agricultural biotechnology disputes. It has been over two years since Mexico last approved a biotechnology
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product and there are presently 18 approvals still pending in the country. On top of this, Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Victor Manuel Toledo Manzur, recently announced that Mexico soon intends to phase out its use of glyphosate. In his testimony to Congress, Lighthizer suggested that the U.S. may begin consultation – and possibly enter the state-to-state dispute settlement process – with Mexico on these issues immediately upon USMCA entering into force. This will be an important test of the mechanisms established by USMCA to resolve non-tariff agricultural trade barriers. In attempting to justify these actions, Mexico has drawn from the European Union’s “precautionary principle,” which essentially replaces science-based thresholds with an outright rejection of agricultural goods when any level of pesticides or biotechnologies are detected. In his testimony, Lighthizer claimed that the EU has turned the practice of disguising agricultural protectionism as nonscience-based consumer preferences into a “high art.” This tension between the EU and U.S. on agricultural trade policy is permeating multiple upcoming negotiations. Following its withdrawal from the EU, the United Kingdom is currently engaged in negotiations with the U.S. for a trade deal. While the UK has been more amenable to modern agricultural practices – the country frequently voted in the minority to approve biotechnologies while still a member of the EU – there is growing domestic pressure for the UK to protect its farmers and ranchers. Concurrent with our negotiations, the UK is also negotiating its trading terms with the EU, and Lighthizer noted that USTR will be closely monitoring those proceedings. While the UK’s initial proposals related to agricultural tariff schedules have been well-received by U.S. negotiators, the closer the UK mirrors the EU’s agricultural trade policies, the less inclined Lighthizer said
