Robert Lighthizer uses U.S. bulk commodity agriculture as an example.

“We’re more competitive, and we’re more discriminated against around the world. I’ve always said that no group suffers more from protectionism abroad than agriculture.”

Speaking during the Iowa Farm Bureau Economic Summit earlier this month, he said politics get in the way of free trade.

“It’s not a real market. There are pieces that are real, but basically countries around the world feel a little bit like I do, agriculture is essential to the essence of the country and you’re going to protect it. And we’re not going to go for efficiency, we’re going to go for protecting that sector. And so agriculture has suffered a great deal.”

As the U.S. Trade Representative during the first Trump administration, Lighthizer led USMCA negotiations and negotiated the Phase One trade deal with China.

Read the article.