{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=02A22AD1-A392-4496-A9E2-5E294C3F0C03", "Chairman Roberts: Trade Is More Than a Product Crossing a Border", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Pat Roberts", "R000307", "www.roberts.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today addressed the Washington International Trade Association, highlighting the benefits of NAFTA to American agriculture and the numerous associated American jobs. Roberts then participated in an agriculture trade discussion with Ambassador Max Baucus, former Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and U.S. Ambassador to China; and Grant Aldonas, former Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade and currently the Executive Director or the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown Law.\r\n\u201cThere is a great deal of frustration in farm country because we are missing opportunities to grow our exports,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cI believe that the renegotiation of NAFTA could provide just that opportunity. Strengthening and modernizing NAFTA should result in even stronger economic growth for the United States and for Canada and Mexico.\u201d\r\n\u201cTrade is more than a product crossing a border. A seed planted in a field might ultimately become a meal for a family, but in between you\u2019ll find the combine that harvests it, the facility that processes it, and perhaps most important the people employed at every step of the way.\u201d\r\n\u201cU.S. agriculture has grown because of agreements like NAFTA, and from the farmer in the field to the grocer in the store, American workers have benefited from that growth.\u201d\r\nSenator Roberts is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over U.S. trade policy. Roberts has relentlessly highlighted the vast benefits of NAFTA to American agriculture, including multiple conversations with President Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and other high-ranking officials in the Administration.\u00a0\r\nThe following is Chairman Roberts\u2019 remarks as prepared for delivery:\u00a0\r\nGood morning. It\u2019s great to be with you all today, and I am especially pleased to be back here with my good friend, Ambassador Baucus.\r\n\u00a0Max and I have had the opportunity to work together many times over the years in the Senate Agriculture and Finance Committees. Sometimes he rode shotgun and sometimes I did, and together we have gotten through many challenging issues.\r\n\u00a0As the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, my primary task is to work on behalf of farmers, ranchers, growers, and other rural stakeholders in Kansas and across the rest of our country.\r\n\u00a0In preparation for writing the next Farm Bill, I\u2019ve been talking with many of these stakeholders, all over the country, and one thing is clear.\r\n\u00a0Times are challenging right now in farm country! We are in a rough patch.\r\n\u00a0We are going to do what we can to provide farmers and ranchers with the certainty they need to be successful producers.\u00a0\r\nBut perhaps just as important, I have heard from folks around the country that they need reliable markets, both domestically and abroad, to sell not just the things that we make, but also the commodities that we grow.\r\n\u00a0I\u2019ve also been spending a lot of time over the last year talking about trade, in particular agricultural trade.\r\n\u00a0And, I have been encouraging everyone \u2013 farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, Senators, as well as officials in the Administration, to help fight the pervasive view that our economy has not benefited from trade agreements like NAFTA.\r\n\u00a0I especially want to thank Ambassador Baucus, as well as our colleague Senator Dick Lugar for their efforts on that front.\r\n\u00a0They are helping to convey the benefits of agricultural trade at the grassroots level, and I look forward to working with you all on that effort.\u00a0\r\nThere is a great deal of frustration in farm country because we are missing opportunities to grow our exports.\r\nI believe that the renegotiation of NAFTA could provide just that opportunity. Strengthening and modernizing NAFTA should result in even stronger economic growth for the United States and for Canada and Mexico.\r\nLike many, I have been concerned about the impact some NAFTA proposals could have on the food and agriculture value chain.\r\n\u00a0I joined Senator Boozman, and 16 other Senators in requesting that before committing to any changes to NAFTA, or for that matter, any other free trade agreement, the economic analysis illustrating the impact on the full supply chain of industries involved be shared.\u00a0\r\nTrade is more than a product crossing a border. A seed planted in a field might ultimately become a meal for a family, but in between you\u2019ll find the combine that harvests it, the facility that processes it, and perhaps most important the people employed at every step of the way.\u00a0\r\nU.S. agriculture has grown because of agreements like NAFTA, and from the farmer in the field to the grocer in the store, American workers have benefited from that growth.\u00a0\r\nCanada and Mexico have been continuously ranked in the top five destinations for U.S. exports since NAFTA was signed into law, and we must work hard to continue to cultivate and grow that mutually beneficial relationship.\r\nI also believe that we should be aggressively seeking new agreements and trading opportunities around the world.\u00a0\r\nIf the U.S. isn\u2019t leading the charge and setting the rules, the European Union or others will be.\u00a0\r\nI was pleased that one of the early achievements during President Trump\u2019s Administration was an agreement with China to allow U.S. beef access for the first time since 2003.\u00a0\r\nAnd, this Administration continues to signal a commitment to pursue aggressive trade enforcement at the WTO on China\u2019s administration of its tariff rate quotas, and market price support programs for wheat, corn, and rice.\u00a0\r\nWith a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, China is a critical market for U.S. agriculture, and presents tremendous opportunity.\u00a0\r\nI have had many conversations with President Trump, Ambassador Lighthizer, and Secretary Ross about the role of agriculture in trade.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nWe now have Ted McKinney onboard with Secretary Perdue down at the U.S. Department of Agriculture serving as the first Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.\u00a0\r\nGregg Doud\u2019s nomination moved in a bipartisan manner through the Senate Finance Committee. He is now waiting for the full Senate to consider his confirmation for Chief Agricultural Negotiator.\u00a0\r\nFarmers and ranchers have been waiting far too long for a Chief Agricultural Negotiator. We need to get him confirmed and in place at USTR providing a critical voice for our producers.\u00a0\r\nLast week, I stated that we are at a crossroads on trade.\u00a0 If the U.S. is to continue both as a leader in the global market and to grow the American economy, then we must aggressively work to strengthen existing relationships, and develop new ones.\r\nNo one knows more than the agriculture sector, the rewards that come from our trading partners. I believe that agriculture should be front and center as the U.S. pursues trading opportunities around the world.\u00a0\r\nThank you, and I look forward to this discussion.\r\n\u00a0-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=02A22AD1-A392-4496-A9E2-5E294C3F0C03"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.5664158165454865, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}