Trade and Exports Continue to Strengthen American Agriculture

  |   Feature
FAS Press
A group of women walk through a grove in Vietnam.
(From right) Trade and Foreign Agriculture Affairs Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor walks alongside Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny L. Moffit as the two USDA officials join Vietnamese agriculturalists on a site visit to a grove.

By: Alexis M. Taylor, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs

American agriculture remains strong. Total U.S. agricultural exports reached $174.9 billion in 2023. American farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness owners continue to have success abroad as USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service works for U.S. agriculture. 

Exports are critical to the health of America’s farm sector and the nation’s economy. USDA and the Biden-Harris Administration are committed to ensuring that U.S. agriculture has full and fair access to markets and opportunities across the globe.

In the trade policy arena, USDA successfully opened a new grapefruit market in Vietnam, increased ethanol exports to Japan, and secured the removal of retaliatory tariffs on chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, and apples in India. These and other trade wins in 2023 helped U.S. agricultural producers and exporters gain access to potential markets worth nearly $6.4 billion.

USDA advocated for the interests of U.S. producers in international fora. The U.S. Codex Office’s efforts at the Codex Alimentarius Commission resulted in hundreds of new maximum residue limits for pesticides, ensuring that U.S. growers continue to have access to safe and effective pest control tools. Throughout 2023, our actions set the table for the market development and export promotion activities that directly benefit American farmers and their communities.

FAS hosted five trade missions in 2023 connected U.S. producers and exporters with buyers in Central and South America, Europe, and East and Southeast Asia. The missions facilitated more than 1,600 business-to-business meetings that resulted in nearly $70 million in 12-month projected sales. FAS organized U.S. food pavilions and exhibits at 25 international trade shows in 15 countries, enabling 820 U.S. companies and organizations to showcase their products to global buyers, resulting in $1.5 billion in projected 12-month sales.

In October 2023, USDA launched the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), a new market development effort which emphasizes underinvested markets. The $1.2 billion initiative enables exporters to diversify into new markets and increase market share in growth markets. RAPP targets opportunities in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia where there is a growing middle class and demand for greater variety of high-quality food products.

FAS continued to address global food insecurity in 2023. Through its Food for Progress and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition feeding programs, FAS invested a combined $442 million to combat food insecurity in 47 countries. 

While 2023 was another fantastic year for U.S. food and agricultural trade, we are not resting on our laurels. We’re setting our goals even higher as we look to diversify our markets and bring more U.S. products to all parts of the world in 2024.

Trade Benefits America

A woman and a man shake hands at the beginning of a meeting with two other people standing in the background.
In 2023, the United States and Chile celebrated our 200-year relationship. Bilateral trade in goods has more than quintupled since we signed our Free Trade Agreement in 2003, and it is a cornerstone of our outstanding and prosperous $36 billion trade relationship in goods. Chile is the third largest market in South America for U.S. agricultural and related products. Chilean consumers recognize the high-value, high-quality products that the United States is known to produce and export. Chile is a member of the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), which is unifying global support and investment in innovation to help agriculture and food systems mitigate and adapt to climate change.
A group of people sitting at a table discussing the USDA’s Specialty Crops Competitiveness Initiative.
USDA Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor meeting with stakeholders primarily from the apple sector in and around Adams County. Participants shared their perspectives and opinions regarding domestic challenges and trade barriers. Participants highlighted opportunities to improve access to domestic and international markets. TFAA/FAS are working to incorporate their feedback into the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Initiative and Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.
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A woman and a man shake hands at the beginning of a meeting with two other people standing in the background.
In 2023, the United States and Chile celebrated our 200-year relationship. Bilateral trade in goods has more than quintupled since we signed our Free Trade Agreement in 2003, and it is a cornerstone of our outstanding and prosperous $36 billion trade relationship in goods. Chile is the third largest market in South America for U.S. agricultural and related products. Chilean consumers recognize the high-value, high-quality products that the United States is known to produce and export. Chile is a member of the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), which is unifying global support and investment in innovation to help agriculture and food systems mitigate and adapt to climate change.
A group of people sitting at a table discussing the USDA’s Specialty Crops Competitiveness Initiative.
USDA Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Under Secretary Alexis M. Taylor meeting with stakeholders primarily from the apple sector in and around Adams County. Participants shared their perspectives and opinions regarding domestic challenges and trade barriers. Participants highlighted opportunities to improve access to domestic and international markets. TFAA/FAS are working to incorporate their feedback into the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Initiative and Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.
Specialty Crops, Buying U.S. Products, Market Development, Multilateral Engagement, Codex Alimentarius, Exporting, Trade Missions, Trade Shows
Food for Progress, Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-102), McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP)

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