Bipartisan, Bicameral Letter Urges USTR Tai to Talk to Colombia About Corn
More than 40 members of Congress are asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to push back against a Colombian plan to investigate U.S. corn subsidies. The letter, led by Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Dan Kildee, D-Mich., noted that Colombia found that U.S. milk powder exports were subsidized to the extent that countervailing duties were warranted, and "imposed punitive tariffs."
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"To avoid further compounding this harmful situation with another U.S. commodity, we urge you to elevate the existing bilateral dialogue on this issue to prevent any arbitrary trade-restrictive measures that would negatively affect corn trade," they wrote.
They noted that since the Colombian free trade agreement entered into force in 2012, U.S. corn exports for animal feed in Colombia have grown, and that country is among the top five export markets for the commodity.
"In 2023 alone, the U.S. exported over 4 million metric tons of corn to Colombia, equivalent to $1.14 billion in sales," they wrote. "American farmers cannot afford to lose such a vital export market, especially when access to the top U.S. corn export market, Mexico, is already at risk."
The incoming Senate Majority Leader and incoming Senate Finance Committee chairman and ranking member also signed the letter, as did 10 other senators and 23 other House members.