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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced an expanded partnership with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM). This partnership is expected to increase domestic ag production and exports, while reducing the ag trade deficit.
In addition to this partnership, USDA also announced the launch of the Financial Assurance to Revitalize Markets Initiative, an effort to strengthen and modernize the export credit guarantee program, supporting the competitiveness of U.S. Agriculture.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Since January 20, 2025, President Trump has initiated the most aggressive foreign trade agenda in American history. The President and his entire trade team have traveled the world to successfully negotiate over two dozen trade deals, expanding unprecedented market access for American farmers and ranchers. Over the last four years, our trade agenda favored foreign competitors over America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers. This led to a $50 billion projected agricultural trade deficit, when under President Trump we had a surplus. In the last year we cut this in half with corn exports up 29%, ethanol exports up 11%, and dairy exports up 15%. This new partnership between USDA and EXIM is exactly the new thinking and the comingling of the brightest minds in government that is needed to fully utilize every single available resource to boost ag exports, improve the ag economy, and return to an era of long-term stability and profitability in rural America.”
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.