WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, questioned American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland about the need to hold China accountable under the Phase I agreement signed during the first Trump administration. Grassley and Ragland also discussed the importance of seeking soybean markets outside of China.
Video and excerpts of Grassley’s remarks follow.
On Holding China Accountable Under the Phase I Agreement:
Grassley: “In your written testimony, you talked about the importance of the Chinese market for soybeans. You mentioned that 54% of all soybeans exported last year went to China. You also mentioned the possibility of a Phase 2 Agreement between the United States and China. One of the key pieces of Phase 1 was the purchasing agreements, that China failed to comply with in previous years. Are the old purchasing agreements under Phase I sufficient for the soybean industry today?”
Ragland: “We need increased trade is the bottom line. That is the lifeblood of American agriculture and the American soybean industry in particular, the largest ag export in the U.S. The Phase I deal with China had wonderful opportunities if compliance and enforcement had taken place, but it didn't. But we would like to see a minimum of those volumes return, and we need those desperately…Our prices are similar to what they were pre-trade war in 2018, but our cost of production [is] so much higher as inflation has been very difficult on agriculture in general.”
On Finding Alternative Markets:
Grassley: “I stressed to Ambassador Greer earlier this year, while it is important to hold China accountable to their international commitments, the United States must find alternative markets for both imports and exports. Over dependence on any one market, leads to less resilient supply chains. We tend to stress the importance of China, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, India and few others for trade. But there are 190 other countries that represent market opportunities. What countries besides China should the United States look to as alternative markets for soybeans and soy products?”
Ragland: “Senator, we're certainly looking around the world. India is complicated, but their large population makes them a target we want to look to. But there's some other barriers there, outside of tariffs, to do with their business model and their production model within the country…We certainly want to expand and diversify so we're not dependent on China.”
-30-