When U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer appeared before the Ways and Means Committee on May 22 to discuss President Trump’s trade agenda, I had the opportunity to ask him about a number of agriculture trade priorities.
To start, I emphasized the importance of NAFTA to Nebraska agriculture. Many Third District producers have reached out to me with deep concerns about disruptions to NAFTA, and I have repeatedly taken these concerns to the Trump administration.
Ambassador Lighthizer’s responses to our Committee showed the administration is listening and gave me confidence in his commitment to not undermine NAFTA’s successes. We can certainly take a look at this 25-year-old agreement to see where modernizations can be made, but the current market access granted to U.S. exporters must be the baseline for any renegotiation.

Much of my questioning focused on how the administration is holding China accountable to the 100-day plan, specifically when it comes to approval of U.S. biotechnology crops. There is great opportunity in biotechnology to feed more people around the world while being good stewards of our finite resources.
As agreed to under the U.S.-China 100-day plan, China’s National Biosafety Committee recently met to review approval petitions for eight U.S. biotech products which have seen their approvals for the Chinese market delayed by an average of five years. Following the meeting, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture approved only two of the eight pending products.
China’s lack of approval for these products forces U.S. producers to choose between using the most current seed varieties and continuing access to China’s 1.37 billion consumers. The approval of only two products is disappointing, and I expressed my concern to Ambassador Lighthizer about whether China will honor the spirit of the 100-day plan.
Knowing China’s Biosafety Committee is set to meet again by the end of this month, I asked what the administration can do to ensure China follows through and approves the remaining six products before the conclusion of the 100-day plan. Ambassador Lighthizer said the administration is continuing to press China. He also agreed with me on the importance of obtaining these approvals because failure to do so, as he recognized, “delays U.S. farmers from implementing a lot of these high-tech techniques in the domestic market as well as internationally.”
Overall, I appreciated Ambassador Lighthizer’s candor in the hearing. It is clear he understands the importance of opening more markets to U.S. agriculture, and I look forward to continuing to work with him and other members of President Trump’s administration to increase opportunity for Nebraska exporters through trade.