Agricultural exports. It remains a vital part of the total U.S. economy, with sales projected for 2026 to be at $173 billion. Needless to say, that number could rise by the end of the year if exports increase beyond forecast, like what occurred in 2025. How might that happen? One strategy has a two-pronged approach.
The first aspect is reciprocal trade agreements between the U.S. and various markets. As U.S. Trade Representative’s Office Chief Agricultural Negotiator Julie Callahan explains, those agreements are leading trading partners to commit to
“Removing non-tariff barriers and also providing preferential tariff concessions for U.S. agriculture.”
So, as an example, with a recent RTA between the U.S. and Taiwan,
“Duty-free access addressing the beef and pork non-tariff barriers that we at USTR had been tackling for years and years, trying to break down these unnecessary non-tariff barriers that were preventing us from fully accessing their market.”
And in the case of all reciprocal trade agreements, those also include
“Commitments to not limit market access when specialty cheese manufacturers want to export cheeses that are protected by EU geographical indications.”
The issue of European Union geographical indications for cheese and other food products has long been a challenge for our nation and other competitors, as it has been used as a tool to limit market access in some cases. The chief ag negotiator says, with the framework of these new trade deals,
“Every trading partner, we want them to commit to allowing our dairy producers to have full market access.”
The second part of the strategy to boost U.S. ag exports is what is known as rapid-response trade missions. As Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg notes, these differ from the traditional ag trade model in that these are visits by USDA officials and, more importantly, ag producers and agribusinesses almost immediately after reciprocal trade agreements are signed.
“People in these countries want to meet our farmers, guys with the dirt under their fingernails who can tell you why their beef is different, or their soybeans are raised slightly better, or whatever that might be. And that’s the people they want to talk to. And so, we have launched this set of programs where we’re bringing over farm groups quickly, in many cases weeks after these agreements get locked in, to expose our producers to the market and begin to build those buyer-seller relationships.”