Focusing on Trade: What Representative Thompson thinks should be on Congress’ radar

When it comes to ag exports, there are two sides to the equation: trade and infrastructure.

House Ag Committee Chair, GT Thompson, shares what could be on the radar for Congress this session.

“It won’t be infrastructure in terms of canals, ports which needs to be addressed. We need to modernize in a serious way. I mean we have ports of entry and ports of export. They cannot accommodate these larger shipping vessels that we now have. So, for whatever reason the United States has not kept up with those investments and we need to do that. We need to be able to move our agricultural commodities efficiently.

“We need to make this a place where these companies that operate these vessels want to come to, right? Also, we need to look at some policies, like there’s an awful lot of shipping containers that are going back empty, specifically to China and that’s wrong. We’re buying products and they need to be fulfilling their trade promises and buying our commodities.”

Congressman Thompson says trade was a hot topic at the listening session with farmers this week at the World Ag Expo.

Related Stories
A new maritime biofuels coalition aims to position ocean shipping as a significant growth market for U.S. crops and waste-derived fuels.
Transportation access, legal disputes, and fertilizer freight costs will directly influence input pricing and grain movement in 2026.
Despite China’s sharp drop in grain purchases this year, new USDA export data this week shows that even some buying activity from the trade giant still moves the markets.
Corn and wheat exports remain supportive, but weaker soybean demand — especially from China — continues to pressure oilseed markets.
China’s pullback is hitting core U.S. commodities hard, reshaping export expectations for soybeans, cotton, grains, and livestock.
Slower grain movement may pressure basis, but falling diesel prices could help offset transportation costs.
“I’m not sure where this bridge goes,” trader Brady Huck with Advanced Trading told RFD-TV News earlier this week.
Canadian tariffs would raise costs for potash, ammonia, and UAN, increasing spring fertilizer risk.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

The National Association of Agriculture Educators (NAAE) recently elected Bill Newsom, of Tennessee, as the organization’s new president.
As we start the new year, let’s take a look at some of the legislative items from 2023 affecting agriculture that will continue to play out in the political area for months to come.
Researchers out of the United Kingdom are using gene editing technology to help make High-Path Avian Flu less of a threat to poultry.