Senator Met with President at White House to Discuss Agriculture, Trade Issues

Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement following an announcement from President Donald Trump and European Union (EU) Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that they have reached an agreement on trade, including plans for the EU to import more U.S. soybeans and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Hoeven was at the White House during the announcement and for a meeting with the President to discuss agriculture and trade.

“The President’s announcement today that the European Union will buy more soybeans, LNG and other U.S. products, as well as work toward zero tariffs and non-tariff barriers is an important step in getting better, more fair trade deals in place for our country, and we need to build on that momentum,” said Hoeven.

“We had a productive meeting with the President today and reiterated the importance of ensuring access to export markets for our producers and getting trade agreements in place as soon as possible. Based on our last meeting at the White House, I asked the President if he still felt we could get an agreement on NAFTA by early fall, and he indicated that is realistic. The President said negotiations are going well, particularly with Mexico. The Administration understands that our farmers and ranchers are heavily impacted by retaliatory tariffs in the short-term. That is why we are working together on a temporary USDA program to provide relief while negotiations continue to achieve the overall goal of gaining greater access to markets on a fair basis for our farmers and ranchers as soon as possible.

“We also discussed the importance of getting the new farm bill signed into law before the current farm bill expires in September, which would be the first time in more than 20 years that the farm bill was delivered on time.”