During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) spoke about expanding international access to the US beef market.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:02Appreciate you being here to answer questions.
00:04I'm concerned, Wyoming, for workers across the country.
00:08I'm worried that foreign competitors continue to use unfair trade practices against the United States,
00:13against our workers, against our producers.
00:15These practices threaten our economic security, our prosperity.
00:20We want a safe and prosperous nation.
00:22Workers in my home state and across the country are paying the price.
00:25So can you just talk a little bit about how you determine if foreign trade and economic practices constitute an emergency for our country?
00:33I just heard our previous speaker talk about asking chat GPT.
00:37I'm not going to do that.
00:38I'm going to ask you, how is it that we determine if foreign trade and economic practices constitute an emergency for our country?
00:45Thank you, Senator.
00:46In the first instance, when the president declares an emergency,
00:49he has to consider where there is the conditions that may impact national and economic security.
00:54And so for him, he took a look at our trade deficit, which was the largest in human history under President Biden, $1.2 trillion.
01:02And we looked at what the effect of that was.
01:04And it includes loss of 5 million manufacturing jobs, loss of 90,000 factories, loss of competitiveness with China in advanced technology.
01:13And then we looked at what are some of the causes of the trade deficit.
01:15And certainly there's currency manipulation, there's other currency factors, but also non-reciprocity in trade, barriers overseas, whether tariffs or non-tariff barriers that keep us out, unfair trading practices like dumping and other things that push things into our market or subsidies or state-directed economies.
01:32And so those are the things we look at.
01:33And then when you move to the countries, obviously, it's common sense to have a baseline to make sure there's no cheating and that we can get at the deficit broadly based and then have a higher rate for those who pose the biggest challenges in terms of the trade deficit and unfair practices.
01:46Thanks.
01:47Can I ask you about nuclear fuel?
01:49And, you know, for decades, America led the world in uranium production.
01:52Today, there's virtually no commercial enrichment capacity.
01:57We're dangerously dependent on imports from other countries.
01:59You know, Congress took a strong stand by banning Russian uranium imports.
02:04We're now seeing a troubling shift with increased uranium imports coming from China.
02:09And we think it's the uranium from Russia going to China, which they then sell to the United States.
02:13So we've simply replaced one adversary with another.
02:16This poses to me a serious threat to our national security, to our energy independence.
02:21Wyoming has the resources and the workforce to revive American uranium production.
02:25But what we know is it's subsidized foreign uranium from China and from Russia threatens to undermine our domestic industry.
02:33Well, you're going to support efforts to end uranium imports from China as we continue to try to build our U.S. nuclear supply.
02:39Senator, I'm happy to talk to you about that and the best way to implement that kind of action.
02:44Great.
02:45Market access for Wyoming beef.
02:47You know, our ranchers are seeing what you recently did, what the president has recently done, and say it's about time.
02:52You know, I know you heard a lot about market access today, just specifically discuss market access for American beef.
02:59It's our number one cash crop in Wyoming.
03:01Our ranchers produce some of the highest quality beef in the world, yet our beef faces significant barriers in key foreign markets.
03:09So I'd appreciate your office's, I do appreciate your office's efforts to document the numerous barriers that unfairly block American beef exports.
03:17For example, Thailand imposes a 50% tariff on American beef.
03:21The European Union's numerous, quote, green deal restrictions limit market opportunities for our ranchers.
03:28Australia's barriers prevent the sale of a safe, high-quality American beef.
03:34They've sold $29 billion into our country.
03:36We can't sell a hamburger there.
03:38So Wyoming beef producers have felt the direct impact of these unfair trade practices, and I say it's our number one cash crop.
03:44What steps do you see being taken now to open new markets and ensure fair access for our beef around the world where we've been blocked?
03:52So, Senator, as everyone knows, we have a lot of countries coming to talk to us right now who want to have more reciprocal trade, get their trade deficit down.
04:00And obviously part of that is making sure we have access for products like beef, making sure we're experts in products like beef.
04:06I've talked to the Australians about this issue.
04:08It's always surprising because they're a great partner for us globally.
04:12This is a big issue with them.
04:14Southeast Asia as well.
04:15These are things that are on our list when people come to talk to us.
04:18It's something we've recorded for years, and we expect countries to change this.
04:22Great.
04:23In terms of critical minerals, we sit on vast deposits of critical minerals in Wyoming, essential for our national security.
04:30Our state has significant reserves of rare earth elements.
04:33Are there some trade initiatives that you're taking right now that are going to pursue to counter China's dominance in the critical minerals world, both in terms of production as well as refinement?
04:46Yes.
04:47Well, I know, for example, this is at the Commerce Department, but I know they're considering whether they need to take some kind of an action and look in a potential Section 232 investigation of critical minerals to know how we can get that here,
04:59how we can get processing here in our near abroad, how to make sure we're not dependent on China for those things.
05:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:06Senator Blackburn.
05:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for being here today.
05:12I know you have had a busy week, and we appreciate that and appreciate what the President is trying to do for the broader economy.
05:23And, of course, it is encouraging to hear.
05:27Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:49Thank you for having me.