US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins Talks Global Agriculture Trade
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Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts, radio, news. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joins us now. She is in Rome for meetings with Italian counterparts right now. She posted on X yesterday about her mission balancing trade and putting American ag first.

I'm pleased to get the Secretary on television with us, Brooke Rollins. Secretary Rollins, thank you so much for joining us. Let me first ask what you've achieved there in Rome because as we know,

exports to Europe and the UK have been important but problematic. They have issues with genetically modified crops, they have issues with the hormone that we use in our beef, they have issues with the chlorine that we use to wash our chicken. So what can we do about those kind of non-trade barriers and what have you achieved there?

Well, thanks so much for having me on. A couple of quick top lines, and then we'll talk about that. The first thing is this, that the president's vision to realign the world economy around putting America first was long coming. For too long, America has been subject to a tariff regime of other countries.

And now that's changing, and it's changing for the better for our country. So I think that's really, really important from my perspective for our farmers and our ranchers. The second thing I think is important is being in Italy today. I was in the U.K. just a couple of weeks ago. I'll be in Vietnam, Japan, and India next month, that it is time that we move these products and continue to work online.

the world stage. Last night we had an incredible day, all day yesterday and last night with my counterparts here in Italy. Their Minister of Agriculture Lolo Brigida who is wonderful. We talked about getting more of our soybeans, more of our wheat, more of our great products from America into Italy and of course across the EU. But the third thing I'll say and that is your point that this concept that American agriculture isn't safe or the genetically modified

you know, whatever it is, there are thousands, thousands of research data compilations that prove that to be wrong. Those are called non-tariff trade barriers, and they are...

absolutely not real. It's not based in science. And it's time that that changed. And I know our trade team from America has been working on that. They continue to work on that. We've got more deals that will be or should be announced in the next week or two. And that non-tariff part of that is a really important part. When people say the

five percent of our chicken in america still uses that chlorine rents and even if more used it it's still considered safe according to worldwide standards not just american standards same on the g_m_o_ same on the hormones et cetera so we feel very confident we have the best product in the world and we're gonna keep moving it out this ms secretary the

The issues that you're raising seem to be some that our own health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, has with foods. The science clearly notwithstanding, right? He has issues with chemical treatments. He has issues with additives in some of our foods that are very similar to those that the EU and the UK have. Aren't you looking at changes along those lines for US food standards as well?

Secretary Kennedy has been very clear that the American product is safe and it is really the best. Now, where he comes in is can we do better? And I think what everyone, everywhere and every product, every lane, it's always about how do we do better? How do we do better? How do we ensure that our products are continually improving? And we're doing that. And that's where he's coming down. But really, as part of the Make America Healthy Again Commission, as the MAW

of four teenagers, a maha mom myself. It isn't just -- it's more about the ultra-processed foods. It's more about all of the other parts of the environment in America that are making our population as, you know, more unhealthy, chronic disease, et cetera, is at an all-time high.

but this has nothing to do with our soybeans, our wheat, our beef, our seafood, all of the great products that are coming from America. And Secretary Kennedy and I are very close. We've talked about this at length. He's visited farms with me in Texas. We have another couple of farms we're going to be visiting in California in the next month. So we are simpatico on this. Now, do we agree on everything? No, but we agree on most things. And I think that

the American people under President Trump's vision will be the ultimate beneficiary of that. But also, as we are on the world stage, continuing to move our great farming and ranching products out there. And I know your guest a minute ago talked about China. Listen, we had a great deal with China in 2019. The Biden administration decided not to enforce it. And as a result, we now have a $45 billion trade deficit in our ag products. So that's what we're trying to sort of make up for right now. I would have thought that

RFK Jr. had a real problem with our wheat. I've heard him for years talking about the glyphosate used in pesticides and linking that to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. So it's interesting.

And I look forward to seeing the two of you together visiting farms. Let's talk about the recalibration of trade. If you lose, say, $2 billion from food aid programs but gain it in Vietnam, I know that you're headed there and they want to buy $2 billion more of our products. That's...

I mean, that's fine, I guess, but it takes time to do those things. So in the meantime, we've seen soybean exports drop, I think, 79% below the five-year average. Corn exports dropped 49%. Do you have to make that up with some sort of farmer subsidy program? In the first administration, President Trump gave the farmers $28 billion. Is something similar like that going to happen again this year?

Well, we remain really convicted that we're just at the beginning of these renegotiations, that the market has reacted, but at the end of the day, inflation is down, jobs are up. We continue to see a positive sign specific to soybean, corn, really our row croppers. That's really a very direct result of China. And I know we're making progress on China. We'll continue to make progress, hopefully. But if we don't, opening up markets online

all over the world. Listen, the EU, for example, charges a 10% tariff on average on American products, and vice versa, we only charge 5%. That's 2x. The average tariff charge around the world is about 15% on American products. When we charge on average 5%, we've been taken advantage of over and over and over again. So as we are realigning, we're also opening up these markets with the trade deal. The UK, just a couple of weeks ago, was a massive deal. 25

five years we couldn't get a deal done with the UK and now all of a sudden we have the deal and that will be extremely beneficial for our corn farmers, our soy farmers through ethanol and our beef cattle, etc. So you'll continue to see this moving forward now if around harvest time into the summer, beginning of the fall

We see some real economic harm with our farmers. Our president has been unequivocal, unequivocal in saying that he's got the farmers back. And if there is short-term consequences, we'll make sure to do everything we can to mitigate that.

And I'm here to execute on the president's vision. So, yes. Can I ask about ethanol specifically? I'm from the great state of Ohio. I grew up surrounded by corn farmers. And I have a lot of respect for the work that those farmers do for our country, really for our national security. And it's delicious. But...

I'm also a fan of the big American V8 motor and I do not want to put ethanol-based gasoline in my car. I'll drive miles to get premium grade fuel. It doesn't have any ethanol. What are you thinking about in terms of the level of crop-based biofuels that should go into gasoline?

Well, I think the most important thing to realize is that we've got an energy national security crisis and that there are many different ways to solve that. And that's what Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, two of my cabinet counterparts, are really focused on. The president, President Trump, talked about being unequivocal. He's been unequivocal in his support for ethanol.

and biofuels. And it isn't just about America. And listen, this is the great thing. It's America where you can choose what you prefer and what you want to put in your vehicle. But the ethanol conversation that's happening around the world, you talk about the UK, which whether we agree or not, I happen to not agree, but their goal is to get to net zero, right? Net zero, which again, we could have a whole other show on that.

But in order to get to net zero, they're going to need our biofuels from America to do that. So it isn't just about specific to, you know, what you're going to put in your truck when you drive across Ohio, which there may be some that disagree with that, what you just said. But it's also about where

America stands on the world stage. A, how we achieve energy independence, but B, how we continue to support our great farmers and our ranchers. And food security is national security. And I think that's really important. If we don't have a strong agriculture sector, if we can't feed ourselves, we are no longer

the superpower in the world. And so all of this, it's a complicated sort of balance that we're striking, that we're working to achieve. But with the president's vision, and I think with arguably one of the greatest cabinets in the history of our country, we will achieve it for the American people by putting America first.

Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in Rome. The data that matters for your investments. The entire auto sector is higher today. And analysis on the companies making news on Wall Street. Tesla's been a stock that's been in focus. Shares have really been all over the map this morning. Listen to the Stock Movers Report from Bloomberg. Let's talk about.

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