President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Luke Lindberg to serve as the Agriculture Department’s trade undersecretary. Lindberg, a former Export-Import Bank official, would join from the America First Policy Institute – the right-wing think tank that Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins leads.
In a statement posted to Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said making Lindberg the undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs would “make sure American Farmers and Ranchers get the smart Trade Deals that they deserve.” The position requires Senate confirmation.
Lindberg held chief of staff and chief strategy officer positions at Ex-Im, before leaving the bank in 2021. Since then, Lindberg has worked in multiple positions at the intersection of agriculture and trade.
At AFPI, Lindberg penned op-eds on economic policies to benefit rural workers and U.S. engagement with East African nations. Alongside his work as a senior fellow at AFPI, Lindberg has since 2022 led South Dakota Trade, an organization helping companies in the state with international trade issues, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Prior to joining South Dakota Trade, Lindberg held the “head of thought leadership” position at Sanford Health, a rural healthcare company.
In addition to his professional ties to Rollins, Lindberg is linked personally to congressional leadership through his wife, Brittany; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is Lindberg’s father-in-law.
Lindberg replaces the outgoing undersecretary Alexis Taylor, who will join the International Fresh Produce Association as their chief global policy officer, according to a statement posted Thursday.
Lindberg has been an outspoken advocate for free trade agreements, touting their economic potential for U.S. farmers. In a 2023 op-ed in the Hill, Lindberg and his co-author lamented the Biden’s administration’s reluctance to renew its Trade Promotion Authority – which allows the White House to negotiate free trade agreements – after it lapsed in 2021.
In the same op-ed, the former Ex-Im official described free trade deals as a valuable geopolitical tool to strengthen the U.S.’ hand in its strategic rivalry with China. Accordingly, he urged the U.S. to follow China’s lead in deepening trade ties with third-party countries.
“China isn’t waiting for an outcome of this duel to decide where it will procure goods and services,” Lindberg wrote, noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been “aggressively” pursuing free trade agreements.
“We should be too,” Lindberg wrote.
