President Trump announced his tariff plans this month, and the markets have responded negatively. Many ag groups are concerned, but NCBA and its Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Ethan Lane, are not. They are on board with what Trump is trying to accomplish. Oklahoma Farm Report’s Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Lane to get the latest update about the tariff discussions.
“We were really pleased that the White House invited us to the ceremony in the Rose Garden,” Lane said. “It was important for us to be there to make sure we are showing the president and his team that we are, as an industry, supportive of the president using this tool as a means to rectify some of the longstanding imbalances in those trade relationships for U.S. beef producers around the world.”
He emphasized the superior quality of U.S. beef, which causes resentment in some countries that don’t want to see U.S. beef on the store shelves next to their own. Many of these countries enjoy market access to sell in the U.S. but restrict U.S. beef from being marketed in their own countries creating a one-sided trade relationship.
Australia is the best example of a one-sided trade relationship. In twenty years of free trade with them, they have shipped more than $28 billion worth of beef into U.S. markets while continually creating multiple non-tariff barriers to prevent U.S. beef from being sold in their country. Leaders in the country often create disparaging propaganda around U.S. beef, but the fact is that U.S. beef is better than their own.
“The fact that the president is willing to take that on and is willing to use this tool to prompt some negotiations and rectify some of those non-tariff barriers in particular, we believe is something that could be incredibly beneficial to cattle producers,” Lane stated.
Lane emphasized that NCBA is also working to inform President Trump and his team about the challenges that cattle producers are facing and ensuring that they have accurate statistics and data to use in their decision-making processes and negotiations.
The goal is to ensure the negotiations work out positively for cattle producers and don’t damage the good trade relationships that U.S. beef already has. “We have many [good relationships], so we want to make sure we are managing that dynamic, and the best way to do that is to lean into this, support the president, and give him the information he needs to make this effort successful.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show, and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
