The Democratic chairs of four House Agriculture Subcommittees voiced criticism of USDA's second trade aid package, after the department unveiled payment rates and other details about the effort Thursday (July 25).
The joint statement was issued Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., chair of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, chair of the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, Filemon Vela, D-Texas, chair of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management and Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., chair of the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research.
"While these second Market Facilitation Program payments will undoubtedly help farmers in tough economic conditions, they continue to tell us loudly and clearly they want fair access to global markets, not one-off handouts from the Federal government," the lawmakers wrote.
Of particular concern, is the " fairness and the equity of payments across crops and commodities, including specialty crops, dairy, and livestock products," the lawmakers said. Also a worry, is how the aid package "will affect our World Trade Organization commitments, especially given concerns raised by our trading partners after the first round of trade aid," they noted.
The lawmakers reiterated calls for President Donald Trump to end the trade war, arguing it "isn’t accomplishing anything but added pain for our farmers."
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