TRADE UPDATE

Food & Agriculture
December 2, 2025

By Kristy Goodfellow, Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs, Ameya Khanapurkar, Project and Policy Coordinator, and Jacob Slattery, CRA Intern

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • USMCA:
    • A bipartisan coalition of more than 100 House lawmakers urged U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer to protect the agricultural gains secured under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as next year’s review approaches.
  • World Trade Organization (WTO):
    • During the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Agriculture meeting last week, the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to following WTO rules in response to questions regarding new and forthcoming U.S. subsidy and export promotion funding.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):
    • The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is warning that transboundary animal diseases are an urgent threat to global food security and economic stability and calls on countries to reinforce global partnerships and sustainable funding.
  • Trade Data:
    • The WTO goods trade barometer shows growth in trade in goods slowing after a surge in the first half of 2025. Trade remains above the baseline level, although agricultural raw materials remain below the baseline.

“At a time when economic challenges threaten the livelihood of family farms, producers need the certainty provided under USMCA more than ever.”

—Letter from 109 members of Congress to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer

USMCA

COALITION LETTER TO USTR

  • A letter from a bipartisan coalition of more than 100 House lawmakers led by Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) urged USTR Jamieson Greer to protect the agricultural gains secured under USMCA as next year’s review approaches.
  • Their letter, signed by 109 members of Congress, emphasized that one-third of all U.S. agricultural exports go to Mexico and Canada, with shipments increasing by $10.7 billion and $7.6 billion to those countries, respectively, since the agreement’s adoption.
  • The lawmakers also highlighted broad support from more than 100 food and agricultural groups for a full 16-year renewal of the pact, stressing that USMCA continues to deliver “vast benefits” to farmers, ranchers, grain handlers, and rural communities. The lawmakers argued that maintaining the certainty the agreement provides is especially important as economic pressures weigh on family farms and that the deal’s long-term potential for U.S. agriculture has not yet been fully realized.
  • The letter advocates for resolving the “few remaining barriers impacting U.S. agriculture, such as Canada’s barriers to U.S. dairy” through enforcement of the existing agreement.
  • Smith also underscored the need to preserve provisions supporting U.S. biotech crops and dairy market access.

World Trade Organization

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

  • The World Trade Organization’s Committee on Agriculture met Nov. 24-25, the group’s final meeting of the year and the last gathering before the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference.
  • During the meeting, the U.S. received numerous questions about new and potential domestic subsidy and export promotion programs. The U.S. stated it remains fully committed to WTO obligations.
  • The U.S. asked questions regarding the EU’s Deforestation and Forest Degradation Strategy, export restrictions in India and Pakistan, and subsidy programs in India and China.
  • According to the WTO readout, the committee members concluded a review of the operations of the Bali tariff-rate quota decision, discussed a food insecurity report prepared by the Secretariat, shared perspectives on the Bali Ministerial Decision on general services and technology transfer, and heard from several international organizations on recent market developments and the current state of food security.

Food and Agriculture Organization

TRANSBOUNDARY ANIMAL DISEASES

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu is warning that transboundary animal diseases are an urgent threat to global food security and economic stability. In response, Qu is calling on countries to reinforce global partnerships and sustainable funding to fight serious risks to livestock, aquaculture, and farmed-animal sectors.
  • Across the global farmed-animal sector, outbreaks of diseases like foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, and highly pathogenic avian influenza threaten to wipe out livelihoods, reduce food production, disrupt trade, and erase years of development gains in a matter of days.
  • Estimated annual losses from livestock disease alone could be as high as $330 billion, with aquaculture facing an additional roughly $10 billion in disease-related losses.
  • To prevent future crises, FAO has launched a new initiative – the Global Partnership Programme on Transboundary Animal Diseases – which aims to build a globally supported framework under which national veterinary and animal-health systems are strengthened, and trade disruptions are minimized through shared responsibility.

Trade Data

WTO GOODS TRADE BAROMETER

  • The WTO goods trade barometer shows growth in goods trade slowing after a surge in the first half of 2025 from front-loading imports before U.S. tariff increases.
  • Trade remains above the baseline level, although agricultural raw materials remain below the baseline, having contracted since the beginning of the calendar year.
Source: WTO