USDA Nominee Sees Expanding Export Opportunities in Indo-Pacific
U.S. agricultural exporters have “huge opportunities” in the Indo-Pacific and should prepare for expanded market access soon, said Alexis Taylor, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the USDA’s Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs undersecretary (see 2205160011). Taylor, speaking during a nomination hearing last week, said she hopes to work closely with other agencies on “trade parties” within the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (see 2209190077) if she is confirmed.
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“There is a lot of excitement, I think, and opportunity in the Indo-Pacific region,” Taylor told the Senate Agriculture committee. She said she’s “interested in engaging on what meaningful market access might look like there, enforceable standards for our agricultural community that then they can rely on, and ensuring then that we are enforcing those standards when those commitments are not being lived up to.”
She also wants to better address non-tariff barriers in the region to make sure they are “clear and predictable.” Those barriers “oftentimes can get thrown up in unjustified ways for our agricultural exporters,” Taylor said.
Taylor said she hopes to help provide vital services to U.S. exporters looking to sell in the region. “Exporting to other countries is complicated. There are language barriers, there are cultural differences, there are confusing [sanitary and phytosanitary] requirements,” Taylor said. Help from USDA is “so vital for our exporters to get into that market and build those trading relationships.”