“It’s un-American not to fight to have an even playing field": Rep. Arrington stresses our unbalanced trade

Lawmakers like Texas Representative Jodey Arrington say trade has been unbalanced for too long.

During a hearing on the Hill this week, he said the current trade rules would never fly if it was played like a basketball game.

“You know, I can’t imagine the Texas Tech Raiders taking on the Arkansas Hogs and let the Arkansas Razorbacks shoot lay-ups for their free throws, or pick up the ball and run with it instead of dribbling, I mean can you ever imagine watching a competition where there were two sets of rules. Now, we’d still beat them, no question, under any set of rules and circumstances, but anyway, it just seems to me that it’s un-American not to fight for our manufacturers, producers, and workers to simply have an even playing field.”

Arrington made those comments during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on trade. Several ag groups spoke before the panel, highlighting the need to keep trade affordable.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Brooks York with Agri-Sompo joined us to discuss this year’s harvest price calculations and what they could mean for producers nationwide.
Dr. Jeffrey Gold, President of the University of Nebraska, joined Rural Health Matters to discuss dental care access and improvement efforts across rural America.
“Farmers for Free Trade” warns that disaster is brewing as President Trump’s trade policy is causing farm input costs to rise even more.
While artificial intelligence, or AI, is reshaping both jobs and messaging in agriculture, CoBank data suggests human expertise still matters.