Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is complaining about the EU and their lack of live cattle imports from the United States.
In a call with reporters, he said American beef is the “gold standard” and other countries need to get on board with buying it up.
“In the meantime, we should continue pursuing deals like the recent agreement in principle with the United Kingdom. At least they’re going to let us import some beef into that country. This will provide relief to American producers and consumers while adding pressure to the European Union to come to the negotiating table.”
Grassley is calling on the White House to keep the pressure on EU officials. Additional tariffs are paused there until early July.
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is currently in Rome looking to open new markets and improve existing ones across the EU. She says the U.S. relationship with Italian buyers is worth billions of dollars in trade, but warns U.S. agriculture has been left behind by the European Union. She says the USDA will continue its work to level the playing field. This trip comes on the heels of her visit just two weeks ago to the United Kingdom.
