Weekly Column: Working For Idahoans As Chairman Of The Senate Finance Committee--Trade Policy Priorities

More than 1,700 companies in Idaho export goods and services to more than 150 countries around the globe.  The world wants Idaho’s products and services—from Idaho’s high-quality potatoes, dairy and beef products to cutting-edge memory chips.  As the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in the 119th Congress, I am advocating for Idaho’s interests in federal legislation under the Committee’s jurisdiction that includes legislation to approve and implement foreign trade agreements.  The following are some trade priorities I am working to advance in the Committee.

The United States must resume negotiating real, comprehensive trade deals that expand market access for Idaho producers, protect Idaho interests competing abroad and thoughtfully reduce those tariffs that help our manufacturers, businesses and consumers.  After years of the Biden Administration abdicating this important responsibility, Congress must work with the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce to reauthorize key trade programs, enforce existing agreements, and negotiate on behalf of American farmers, producers and manufacturers.

We must demonstrate to our trading partners that the United States, rather than China, presents the best opportunity for a brighter economic future.  American farmers win when they have a chance to compete, and Idaho farmers and ranchers are the best in the world.

Idaho’s nearly 25,000 farms and ranches produce far more high-quality food than our great state can consume, leading to the export of more than $2.9 billion of our agricultural products worldwide according to Office of the United States Trade Representative statistics, including:

• $714 million in dairy products;

• $385 million in wheat;

• $321 million in processed vegetables;

• $307 million in beef and veal; and many more of Idaho’s more than 185 different commodities.

These sales enable Idahoans and farm communities to thrive while feeding families around the world with Idaho’s abundance.  We must be ever-vigilant in keeping these markets open to Idaho producers and aggressively seeking more opportunities to reach customers around the world. 

Our manufacturing, innovation, creative and tech industries are also second to none.  The Committee must help workers in these industries by negotiating critical rules on technical barriers to trade, intellectual property and key digital trade provisions, such as on non-discrimination and free data flows.

I am confident the Committee will work in a bipartisan way to protect the free flow of information across borders, ensuring access to open markets for American digital goods and ending the forced transfer of U.S. technology and intellectual property.  We must combat China’s predatory practices in digital trade and protect the more than 8 million Americans who work in the digital economy, driving innovation and growth.

It is also well past time to modernize our customs laws to empower our law enforcement agents with the necessary tools and authorities to secure our borders from illegal drugs, counterfeit products and other dangerous goods while ensuring legitimate commerce can proceed swiftly and efficiently.

We have tremendous opportunities ahead to strengthen the future for Idaho families and businesses.  As Chairman, I am committed to seizing those opportunities and working with the Trump Administration to enforce our rights against unfair trade practices and negotiate good trade deals on behalf of the American people.  I also look forward to sharing more on my health care priorities under the jurisdiction of the Committee in a column in the weeks ahead.  

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