The chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee that handles trade policy says he’s concerned about the U.S. becoming embroiled in tit-for-tat tariff escalations that could lead to ag producers facing new duties.
Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., was asked during an event hosted by the Consumer Brands Association Wednesday whether trade retaliation was a concern for him. Smith said, “short answer, yes.” He added that he is “not a fan of tariffs,” but acknowledged that it “needs to be a tool in the toolbox” of U.S. trade policy.
Smith expressed optimism that President-elect Donald Trump will lead to a “more vigorous” trade agenda than Joe Biden. Smith sees Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as a missed opportunity, because it doesn’t include legally binding commitments or market access provisions.
“Other countries are expecting more from us than they saw, say, through IPEF, and I think over the next four years they will see more,” Smith said.
Craig, Costa hit the 'right buttons’ during CBC forum
The Congressional Black Caucus held a candidate forum Wednesday for Democrats running in various ranking member races, including the House Agriculture Committee.
And all candidates running for the various committee leadership positions were in attendance – except for David Scott of Georgia, the current ranking member on House Ag, according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
Scott has missed other caucus candidate forums this week while his two challengers, Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., and Jim Costa, D-Calif., have been presenting their vision to various members.
Craig and Costa’s pitches touched on the nutrition title of the farm bill, historically Black colleges and universities, and beginning farmer programs, Thompson said. “They punched the right buttons,” Thompson said.
The caucus did not vote on any position and may not until Monday, Thompson said. He said he was not influenced by Scott’s absence, but it may have been a missed opportunity for him to share his vision with new members.
Read more about the House Ag race here.
Crawford exits T&I leadership race; Graves now unopposed
Missouri Republican Rep. Sam Graves will keep the chairmanship of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Arkansas Republican Rick Crawford conceded his bid for the job Wednesday, clearing the path for Graves to speak to the GOP steering committee unopposed today.
Graves was granted a waiver from the steering committee last week to serve as the panel’s top Republican for two years beyond the six-year term limit listed in GOP rules. Reauthorization of federal surface transportation programs will be a top issue for the committee during the next Congress.
Grocery merger dead as Albertsons sues Kroger
Albertsons Cos. is suing Kroger, claiming the competing grocery store chain did not put forth its “best efforts” and take “any and all actions” to gain regulatory approval of the two companies’ proposed $24.6 billion merger.
The lawsuit came Wednesday, the day after state and federal court judges blocked the merger on the grounds that it would result in a less competitive pricing environment. Both judges questioned the fitness of C&S Wholesale Grocers, which was in line to buy about 580 stores as part of the required divestiture.
“Kroger willfully breached the merger agreement in several key ways, including by repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedback, rejecting stronger divestiture buyers and failing to cooperate with Albertsons,” Albertsons said in a news release.
Albertson said it had terminated the agreement, which entitles it to a $600 million termination fee “and removes contractual constraints on Albertsons’ ability to pursue other strategic opportunities,” the company said.
Arkansas governor backs SNAP 'junk food' restrictions
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared on social media Wednesday that she sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for key departments asking them to limit junk food purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Sanders, who was White House press secretary during Trump’s first term, said prohibiting certain foods from being included in SNAP like sugary beverages would get at Trump’s goals of addressing chronic illness and federal spending. She sent the letter to Trump’s nominee for USDA, Brooke Rollins, and his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“President Trump has a unifying vision to save taxpayer dollars and make America healthy again,” Sanders said in a social media video. “Mr. President, SNAP is a great place to start.”
Keep in mind: The chairman of the House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee, Andy Harris, R-Md., has included pilot programs to restrict SNAP purchasing in successive spending bills for USDA, but the provisions haven’t become law.
Salaam Bhatti, SNAP director at the Food Research and Action Center, says SNAP participants have to make the best economic decisions they can given the high price of fresher foods and the limited amount of benefits they get.
“If we really want to make America healthy again, what we should be doing is increasing the SNAP benefit amount,” Bhatti said. “Time and time again, we’ve seen this be the proven model that increases people buying fresher foods and also simultaneously decreases emergency room visits and healthcare spending.”
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