Sen. Deb Fischer, Gov. Pete Ricketts and other farm-state senators, congressmen and governors met with President Donald Trump on Thursday to discuss agricultural trade issues and ethanol.
Fischer said the lawmakers were united in their meeting at the White House to emphasize the concerns farmers and ranchers have regarding White House statements and actions on trade and ethanol production.
“We want to keep those good markets that we have, and hopefully the president will negotiate us some great opportunities in the future so we can continue to export,” Fischer said.
She said many of the Trump administration’s statements and actions on agriculture issues are causing anxiety and uncertainty for Nebraskans. Those issues concern NAFTA, potential Chinese tariffs and the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Fischer said Trump has focused on the entire country and not a particular sector when looking at trade and its impact on the nation’s economy. “It is my job to push him and continue to fight for Nebraska as agriculture is the economic engine for the state of Nebraska,” Fischer said.
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Over the last year, she said, there have been six senators working on NAFTA with Trump.
“When you add up the percentage of Nebraska ag product exports to Canada, Mexico and China, 49 percent of our exports go to those three countries,” Fischer said.
“This was a great discussion,” she said. “The president is always a good listener.”
Fischer said Trump was “very active in participating” in the Thursday conversation with farm-state lawmakers. “There was a lot of back and forth with ideas,” she said.
Trump also brought up the issue of E15 in growing the nation’s ethanol industry, she said. Fischer is sponsoring legislation to promote E15.
Currently, most gasoline sold has only 10 percent ethanol. E15 has been determined to be safe for use in vehicles and would increase ethanol production.
Nebraska is the nation’s second-largest producer of ethanol. More than 40 percent of the Nebraska’s corn harvest goes to ethanol production at the state’s 24 ethanol refineries.
Fischer said she continues to be concerned about the Trump administration’s view on smaller gasoline refineries and exemptions they could receive that would impact ethanol production nationwide.
“We are trying to explain to him (Trump) that’s an attack on the RFS,” she said.
Fischer said she feels Trump is “pretty close” when it comes to getting favorable trade agreements with countries the U.S. depends on to buy its agricultural exports.
While Trump wasn’t specific about when those negotiations will conclude, she said, “he wants to make sure we get a good deal.”
“That was very positive to me,” Fischer said.
She said they discussed with Trump about re-engaging with Trans-Pacific Partnership nations to open new markets. Also, re-engaging with TPP countries is believed to be a way to confront China on trade concerns, she said.
When Trump was elected, he pulled the U.S. out of negotiations for a trade agreement with the TPP coalition of 12 Pacific Rim countries.
“The president was open to that,” Fischer said. “We had a good discussion on it. Some members may take that as we might get back into TPP. But I also heard the president say that he prefers bilateral agreements. He’d rather work with individual countries.”
She also told Trump about the concerns Nebraska farmers have at planting time this spring, and what crops they should choose while anticipating how markets will react to actions of the Trump administration.
“I have traveled the state for the last two weeks and there is a lot of anxiety out there,” Fischer said. “People need certainty. It is a very stressful time when not knowing exactly where we are with our markets.”
She told Trump that Nebraska farmers are in a “five-year slump” when it comes to low commodity prices. “We are in a downward cycle now and that affects ag producers and rural communities and the entire state of Nebraska,” Fischer said.
Ricketts urged Trump to continue to open up new markets for Nebraska’s agriculture products and pursue trade strategies that help grow agriculture.