During Tuesday’s Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) questioned Luke Lindberg, nominee to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, about the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on U.S. allies.
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00:00The Senator from Georgia, Senator Warnock.
00:03Thank you, Chair Bozeman.
00:04Congratulations to both of you for your nominations, and welcome to your families.
00:11Over the last few months, President Trump has thrown the global economy and agricultural markets into a tailspin with uncertainty caused by his sweeping and chaotic tariffs.
00:24I don't share the Secretary Treasurer's of the Treasury's positive view where things are at this point.
00:34The President's actions have created uncertainty, and we see it on the ground.
00:39We see it with Georgia farmers who are worried about affording necessary inputs like fertilizer and losing access to critical export markets.
00:50Mr. Lindbergh, if confirmed, you would be responsible for international agriculture trade at USDA.
00:58And I remain concerned that the President's manufactured trade war will hurt Georgia farmers, who I'm hearing from regularly.
01:08And I'm concerned that it will push our allies in exactly the wrong direction, actually towards China.
01:16Do you share that concern?
01:18Senator, thank you for the question.
01:22And as a point of reference, I've been a longtime acquaintance of former Georgia Agricultural Secretary Gary Black, and we've discussed trade issues and actually have worked together in the past.
01:33He's spoken at a summit I've hosted in South Dakota for several years.
01:36And so the short answer is I believe that Georgia's pecan growers face unfair tariff barriers around the world and non-tariff barriers on their products.
01:47I also believe that Georgia's shrimping industry is getting decimated unfairly by foreign imports that are produced in unsanitary conditions.
01:56And it's time that we take a stand and we provide better market access that gives your producers what they deserve, what they've been promised in many cases around the world, but also protect our domestic producers as well.
02:10Are you concerned that these tariffs are pushing them towards China?
02:14I believe that the president is going to sign a number of new trade agreements that will open up market access for our producers.
02:23So I've done a lot of work on this issue.
02:26I'm well aware of the concerns that Georgia farmers have had with getting their products, pecans and other products.
02:33I've dealt with the aflatoxin issue with respect to peanuts in foreign markets.
02:40The tariffs is still another issue.
02:43We've seen this movie before.
02:45And when it happened during the first Trump administration, they were basically subsidized.
02:53And as I talked to Georgia farmers, I would submit to you that they want trade.
02:56They don't want aid.
02:57If confirmed, what will you do to combat this isolation strategy and open new export markets for Georgia farmers?
03:05We agree that we want to open export markets.
03:07Absolutely, we do.
03:08Yes.
03:08And I believe that the trade agreements that were signed in the first Trump administration are examples that we can live by.
03:14The USMCA, which was a bipartisan agreement, provided new market access.
03:19We could replicate agreements like that successfully to increase those market access opportunities around the world for Georgia producers.
03:27I'm certainly concerned about the outcome of these practices.
03:34I haven't seen much so far that heartens me.
03:38But I look forward to working with you in the future to do everything we can to open international trade markets for Georgia farmers.
03:44I've spoken many times in this committee about USDA's terrible and well-documented record of discrimination against black farmers and the importance of federal programs aimed at addressing past discrimination and uplifting underserved farmers.
03:58I'm proud of my and Senator Booker's efforts in the previous administration to push USDA to break down the structural and financial barriers erected by the agency that many underserved farmers face.
04:13But the work is not over.
04:15Mr. Westhill, good to meet you the other day in my office.
04:18If confirmed, you would be over civil rights at USDA.
04:22Do you agree that USDA has historically engaged in discriminatory actions that have uniquely harmed black farmers in their farm lending programs?
04:34Senator, thank you for the question.
04:35And it was a pleasure to meet with you in your office when we talked about this as well.
04:39And as I've suggested to your colleagues and to you then, I've read the book on that particular very sad and bad history at USDA.
04:47It's a yes or no question?
04:49That is a yes.
04:50Yes, thank you.
04:51So you're aware of the Pickford case.
04:55And are you aware that USDA has agreed to a consent decree settlement, which a court has blessed in light of that history of discrimination?
05:05Yes, Senator.
05:06I'm aware of Pickford.
05:06Okay.
05:07And do you acknowledge that according to an NPR analysis of USDA data as recently as 2022, black farmers were still denied USDA loans at higher rates than any other race?
05:21Senator, I'm not aware of that.
05:23You know, I'm not aware of that.
05:24I want you to become aware of it.
05:26I'm going to submit this report.
05:29Chair Boozman, I'd like to submit it, this analysis for the record.
05:32If confirmed, how would you continue the important work to dismantle these structural barriers and rebuild trust between the USDA and farmers who previously faced discrimination?
05:44Senator, I appreciate the question.
05:45I really do appreciate your strong interest in these types of issues.
05:49I think they're very, very important.
05:50It's one of the reasons why I've dedicated my career to working on them.
05:54What I can commit to is enforcing civil rights at USDA vigorously.
05:58The same thing that we did in the first term when I headed this office as Deputy Assistant Secretary.
06:04We would do it again.
06:05If there are artificial or arbitrary barriers that are preventing anyone from doing business with USDA, customers, employees, or otherwise, we want to make sure that those are broken down.
06:16And I'm committed to that.
06:16I'm also concerned about this administration's attack on programs that fall under the broad umbrella of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
06:27Following the President's DEI executive order, this administration haphazardly and illegally, in my view, froze funding passed by Congress on a bipartisan basis for many critical programs,
06:40causing chaos for the students and organizations who depend on those funds, including USDA's 1890 National Scholars Program.
06:51While I was glad to see that program unfrozen, it didn't happen until some folks made noise.
06:57There was a lot of a public outcry and the recognition that this shouldn't have happened in the first place.
07:05Mr. Westhill, do you believe that 1890 institutions like Georgia's Fort Valley State University are DEI?
07:15Senator, no, I don't.
07:16I'm very proud of the work that I did in the first term to support the White House initiative on historically black colleges and universities,
07:22and I look forward to helping with that initiative again if I'm confirmed.
07:27Glad to hear of your commitment to these institutions, recognition that they do critical work.
07:33And so if you're confirmed, will you commit to ensuring that USDA fully implements all 1890 programs as required by statute and intended by Congress?
07:43Senator, anything that's in the law, I would make sure that if it's under my authority, that it would be enforced.
07:49Absolutely.
07:50Thank you so very much.