Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: US Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins joins US now where she
Speaker 2: is in Rome for meetings with Italian counterparts right now.
Speaker 2: She posted on AX yesterday about her mission balancing trade
Speaker 2: and putting American ag first.
Speaker 3: I'm pleased to get.
Speaker 2: The Secretary on a television with US, Brook Rowland, Secretary Rowlands,
Speaker 2: thank you so much for joining us. Let me first
Speaker 2: ask what you have achieved there in Rome, because, as
Speaker 2: we know, exports to Europe and the UK have been
Speaker 2: important but problematic. They have issues with genetically modified crops,
Speaker 2: they have issues with the hormone that we use in
Speaker 2: our beef, they have issues with the chlorine that we.
Speaker 3: Use to wash our chickens.
Speaker 2: So what can we do about those kind of non
Speaker 2: trade barriers and what have you achieved there?
Speaker 1: Well, thanks so much for having me on a couple
Speaker 1: of quick top lines, and then we'll talk about that.
Speaker 1: The first thing is this that the President's vision to
Speaker 1: realign the world economy around putting America first was long coming.
Speaker 1: For too long, America has been subject to a terra
Speaker 1: regime of other countries, and now that's changing, and it's
Speaker 1: changing for the better.
Speaker 3: For our country.
Speaker 1: So I think that's really really important from my perspective
Speaker 1: for our farmers and our ranchers. The second thing I
Speaker 1: think is important as being in Italy today, I was
Speaker 1: in the UK just a couple of weeks ago. I'll
Speaker 1: be in Vietnam, Japan and India next month. That it
Speaker 1: is time that we move these products and continue to
Speaker 1: work on the world stage. Last night, we had an
Speaker 1: incredible day all day yesterday and last night with my
Speaker 1: counterparts here in Italy, their Minister of Agriculture, Lolo Brigita,
Speaker 1: who is wonderful. We talked about getting more of our soybeans,
Speaker 1: more of our wheat, more of our great products from
Speaker 1: America into Italy and of course across the EU. But
Speaker 1: the third thing I'll say, and that is your point,
Speaker 1: that this concept that American agriculture isn't safe for the
Speaker 1: medically modified, you know, whatever it is, there are thousands,
Speaker 1: thousands of research data compilations that prove that to be wrong.
Speaker 1: Those are called non tariff trade barriers, and they are
Speaker 1: absolutely not real.
Speaker 3: It's not based in science. And it's time that that change.
Speaker 1: And I know our trade team from America has been
Speaker 1: working on that.
Speaker 3: They continue to work on that.
Speaker 1: We've got more deals that will be or should be
Speaker 1: announced in the next week or two, and that non
Speaker 1: tariff part of that is a really important part. When
Speaker 1: people say the chlorinated chicken, only five percent of our
Speaker 1: chicken in America still uses that chlorine rinse, and even
Speaker 1: if more used it, it's still considered safe according to
Speaker 1: worldwide standards, not just American standards. Same on the GMOs,
Speaker 1: same on the hormones, etc. So we feel very confident
Speaker 1: we have the best product in the world and we're
Speaker 1: going to keep moving it out.
Speaker 3: Miss.
Speaker 2: The issues that you're raising seem to be some that
Speaker 2: our own Health Secretary Rob F. Kennedy has with foods
Speaker 2: the science clearly notwithstanding right, he has issues with chemical treatments.
Speaker 2: He has issues with additives in some of our foods
Speaker 2: that are very similar to those that the EU and
Speaker 2: the UK have. Aren't you looking at changes along those
Speaker 2: lines for US food standards as well?
Speaker 1: Secretary Kennedy has been very clear that the American product
Speaker 1: is safe and it is really the best. Now where
Speaker 1: he comes in is can we do better? And I
Speaker 1: think what everyone everywhere, in every product, every lane, it's
Speaker 1: always about how do we do better.
Speaker 3: How do we do better? How do we ensure that
Speaker 3: our products.
Speaker 1: Are continually improving? And we're doing that, and that's where
Speaker 1: he's coming down. But really, as part of the Make
Speaker 1: America Healthy Again Commission, as the mom of four teenagers
Speaker 1: a MAHA mom myself, it isn't just it's more about
Speaker 1: the ultra processed foods. It's more about all of the
Speaker 1: the other parts of the environment in America that are
Speaker 1: making our population as more unhealthy.
Speaker 3: Chronic disease, etc. Is at an all time high.
Speaker 1: But this has nothing to do with our soybeans, our wheat,
Speaker 1: our beef, our seafood, all of the great products that
Speaker 1: are coming from America. And Secretary Kennedy and I are
Speaker 1: very close. We've talked about this at length. He's visited
Speaker 1: farms with me in Texas. We have another couple of
Speaker 1: farms we're going to be visiting in California in the
Speaker 1: next month.
Speaker 3: So we are sympatical on this. Now.
Speaker 1: Do we agree on everything, No, but we agree on
Speaker 1: most things. And I think that the American people under
Speaker 1: President Trump's vision will be the ultimate beneficiary of that.
Speaker 1: But also, as we are on the world stage continuing
Speaker 1: to move our great farming and ranching products out there.
Speaker 1: And I know your guest a minute ago talked about China. Listen,
Speaker 1: we had a great deal with China in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: The Biden administration decided not to enforce it, and as
Speaker 1: a result, we now have a forty five billion dollar
Speaker 1: trade deficit in our ag products we're trying to sort of.
Speaker 3: Make up for right now.
Speaker 2: I would have thought that OURFKA Junior had a real
Speaker 2: problem with our wheat. I've heard him for years talking
Speaker 2: about the glyco state used in pesticides and linking that
Speaker 2: to non Hodgkins lymphoma. So it's interesting and I look
Speaker 2: forward to seeing that the two of you together visiting farms.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about the re calibration of trade. If you
Speaker 2: lose say two billion from food aid programs, but gain
Speaker 2: it in Vietnam, I know that you're headed there and
Speaker 2: they want to buy two billion dollars more of our products,
Speaker 2: that's I mean, that's fine, I guess, but it takes
Speaker 2: time to do those things. So in the meantime, we've
Speaker 2: seen soybean exports drop I think seventy nine percent below
Speaker 2: the five year average. Corn exports drop forty nine percent.
Speaker 2: Do you have to make that up with some sort
Speaker 2: of farmer's subsidy program. In the first administration, President Trump
Speaker 2: gave the armers twenty eight billion dollars. Is something similar
Speaker 2: like that going to happen again this year.
Speaker 1: Well, we remain really convicted that we're just at the
Speaker 1: beginning of these renegotiations, that the market has reacted. But
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, inflation is down, jobs
Speaker 1: are up. We continue to see a positive sign specific
Speaker 1: to soybean corn. Really are row croppers. That's really a
Speaker 1: very direct result of China. And I know we're making
Speaker 1: progress on China, will continue to make progress hopefully, but
Speaker 1: if we don't opening up markets all over the world. Listen, EU,
Speaker 1: for example, charges a ten percent tariff on average on
Speaker 1: American products, and vice versa.
Speaker 3: We only charge five percent. That's two x.
Speaker 1: The average tariff charge around the world is about fifteen
Speaker 1: percent on American products, when we charge on average five percent,
Speaker 1: We've been taken advantage of over and over and over again.
Speaker 1: So as we are realigning, we're also opening up these
Speaker 1: markets with the trade deal the UK just a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago, with a massive deal twenty five years
Speaker 1: we couldn't get a deal done with the UK, and
Speaker 1: now all of a sudden we have the deal, and
Speaker 1: that will be extremely beneficial for our corn farmers, our
Speaker 1: soy farmers through ethanol, and our beef cattle, etc. So
Speaker 1: you'll continue to see this moving forward. Now, if around
Speaker 1: harvest time into the summer beginning of the fall, we
Speaker 1: see some real economic harm with our farmers, our president
Speaker 1: has been unequivocal, unequivocal in saying that he's got the
Speaker 1: farmers back, and if there is short term consequences, we'll
Speaker 1: make sure to do everything we can to mitigate that.
Speaker 1: And I'm here to execute on the president's vision.
Speaker 2: So yes, can I ask about ethanol specifically. I'm from
Speaker 2: the great state of Ohio. I grew up surrounded by
Speaker 2: corn farmers, and I have a lot of respect for
Speaker 2: the work that those farmers do for our country, really
Speaker 2: for our national security, and it's delicious.
Speaker 3: But I'm also a.
Speaker 2: Fan of the big American V eight motor and I
Speaker 2: do not want to put ethanol based gasoline in my car.
Speaker 2: I'll drive miles to get premium grade fuel. It doesn't
Speaker 2: have any ethanol. What are you thinking about in terms
Speaker 2: of the level of crop based biofuels that should go
Speaker 2: into gasoline.
Speaker 1: Well, I think the most important thing to realize is
Speaker 1: that we've got an energy national security crisis and that
Speaker 1: there are many different ways to solve that. And that's
Speaker 1: what Doug Bergham and Chris Wright, two of my cabinet counterparts,
Speaker 1: are really focused on the president. President Trump talking about
Speaker 1: being unequivocal. He's been unequivocal in his support for ethanol
Speaker 1: and biofuels, and it isn't just about America.
Speaker 3: And listen, this is the great thing.
Speaker 1: It's America where you can choose what you prefer and
Speaker 1: what you want to put in your vehicle. But the
Speaker 1: ethanol conversation that's happening.
Speaker 3: Around the world.
Speaker 1: You talk about the UK, which whether we agree or not,
Speaker 1: I happen to not agree. But their goal is to
Speaker 1: get to z right net zero, which again we could
Speaker 1: have a whole other show on that, But in order
Speaker 1: to get to net zero, they're going to need our
Speaker 1: biofuels from America to do that. So it isn't just
Speaker 1: about specific to what you're going to put in your
Speaker 1: truck when you drive across Ohio, which.
Speaker 3: There may be some that disagree with that.
Speaker 1: What you just said, but it's also about where America
Speaker 1: stands on the world stage. A, how we achieve energy independence,
Speaker 1: but b how we continue to support our great farmers
Speaker 1: and our ranchers. And food security is national security, and
Speaker 1: I think that's really important. If we don't have a
Speaker 1: strong agriculture sector, if we can't feed ourselves, we are
Speaker 1: no longer the superpower in the world. And so all
Speaker 1: of this it's a complicated sort of balance that we're striking,
Speaker 1: that we're working to achieve. But with the President's vision
Speaker 1: and I think with arguably one of the greatest cabinets
Speaker 1: in the history of our country, we will achieve it
Speaker 1: for the American people by putting America first.
Speaker 2: MS Secretary, thank you so much for your time, really appreciated.
Speaker 2: US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rallins in Rome,