Farm Bureau encouraged by U.K. trade deal

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is applauding a trade deal between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

The deal is the first the U.S. government has agreed to since President Donald Trump imposed higher tariffs on a large number of countries in early April. The U.S. maintains a trade goods surplus with the U.K., according to a CNBC report. 

“The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers,” the White House said in a fact sheet.

No agreement was signed during the May 8 Oval Office event, and many specifics about the deal were not released, according to CNBC.

“Farm Bureau appreciates the work between the administration and the United Kingdom to secure a new trade agreement,” Zippy Duvall, AFBF’s president, said in the release. “We have long advocated for new trade deals, and this is an important first step in expanding markets in the four countries. More work is needed, however, to remove the arbitrary barriers that have excluded American-grown food from grocery stores in the U.K.”

The trade deal will usher in “a golden age of new opportunity for U.S. exporters and level the playing fields for American producers,” the White House said in a statement.

America’s farmers and ranchers grow the safest and most affordable food in the world, Duvall said in a release. 

“We’re encouraged by progress to create market opportunities for farmers. We urge the administration to build on this success to pursue more trade agreements, and resolve current disputes, so farmers can continue to feed families here at home and overseas.”