“I think we are putting wins on the board,” says USDA under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs Luke Lindberg.
In a recent one-on-one interview, he highlights the three-point plan and the three-step process Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and the team at USDA are deploying to create what they are calling “the new golden age for American agriculture.”
Lindberg says this holistic approach alongside the administration’s trade agreements is leading to expanding export opportunities.
Their three-point plan is:
1. Bring new dollars to the table.
“This includes the America First Trade Promotion Program, which helps support our cooperator groups, like the U.S. Soybean Export Council, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, U.S. Meat Export Federation, to get our producers in those markets and effectively brand and market their products,” he says.
2. Trade Reciprocity for U.S. Manufacturers and Producers (TRUMP) missions
“These rapid response trade missions are a little different than our traditional agribusiness trade missions that USDA has been known for a long time,” he says. “These are really hyper-focused and targeted on rapid response opportunities in new markets where President Trump has delivered on new trade agreements. So in President Biden’s administration, there were zero trade agreements in four years. Under President Trump, we have 15 new agreements out there already, and more coming along.”
3. Revitalize GSM 102 financing program
Linberg says this is an important tool to give countries to buy American products.
“It’s a financing program that works typically in low- to medium-income countries,” he says. “When they can’t get a loan from the private sector to buy American, our team steps in and helps increase the credit profile of that country to be able to buy American.”
To strengthen trade partnerships and correct the ag trade deficit, Lindberg points to a three-point plan which includes:
- Get better trade agreements.
- Build willing buyer and willing seller relationships.
- Hold trading partners accountable.
“This is where these TRUMP missions are really important, because what they do is get our folks on the ground to build relationships in a market where they may not have in the past had relationships, or maybe they’ve been gone for a few years, or maybe they just needed some refresh,” he says. “But when we get a lower tariff in that country, or we get new access, or better access, we want to get in there quickly and begin to explore and take advantage of that. I say that the agreement kind of opens the door, and we’re driving a truck through it.”
The Year’s Trade Wins
“The president signed a new agreement with the United Kingdom, and they were our second-largest ethanol market after Canada globally,” Lindberg says. “We have already seen significant increases in our ethanol exports, which are having a banner year, up 11% over last year–best year ever for ethanol exports. And by first quarter of next year, we’re anticipating a 50% increase in ethanol exports to the UK over what we experienced last year. It is making a big difference.”
When asked about the announced buys of American soybeans by China, and what U.S. farmers can expect regarding China upholding those commitments, Lindberg points to the recent sales being just the beginning of more activity between to the two countries.
“The President has also made it clear that the China soybean purchases are a floor. We’re expecting more than that. He even mentioned that last week, when he had a group of farmers come in to talk about these bridge payments and also talk about the farm economy, and said he anticipates and expects that China may do even more yet than what was agreed upon,” Lindberg says. “That floor is a great place to start, gives our soybean farmers enough of the ability to plan for the future. But also be hopeful and optimistic that there’s a brighter future out there as well.”
Bridge Payments Are a Short-Term Solution
With farmer economic support announced at the beginning of the month, Lindberg says that’s a short-term solution, and the goal moving forward is to provide long-term certainty.
“We don’t want band-aid programs. We want fundamental shifts to the farm economy that allow our producers to be profitable for the long run, bring rural prosperity back to rural America,” he says, noting how trade is imperative to the economic success of the American farmer.
He continues: “Our team certainly plays an important role in generating demand overseas for the products. So part of the calculus that goes into a profitable farm is, do you have the markets and the demand to sell your products into? So all these initiatives we’re working on, the three-point plan that all helps to cultivate, it helps to diversify, so we’re not solely focused on one or two key buyers. I think if you go to many business owners and ask them, would you rather have one buyer that buys 80% of your products, or would you rather have some diversification to lots of buyers who have ups and downs of their own, I think many of them would say they prefer the diversification model.”
Outlook For 2026
Lindberg points to tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill as an example of the administration’s strategy to help farmers economically.
“The president had a big win in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which helps with the farm economy in a number of key ways, and the bridge payments that came out are really designed to get folks from today, which is an economy that was largely driven by Biden-era policies into that new golden age of American agriculture. A lot of those One Big Beautiful Bill provisions, like some of the taxing, tax expenses and things, all start next year,” he says. “We’re bridging the gap from today to what that better future will look like next year.”
