Angie Craig: “It is important that we act now and that we act decisively to send a very clear message to our producers and to our…”

“It is important that we act now and that we act decisively to send a very clear message to our producers and to our markets, both nationally and around the world, that we recognize, although sometimes the action of Government does not appear to, that the American economy and American farmers live in a global economy, and that we have to be a good deal more sensitive to our actions as it relates to that and the impact that those actions can have on our producers. Cutting ourselves off through unilateral sanctions seldom benefits us as a nation and almost always hurts the producer. In this instance today, we are speaking of that producer being the American farmer. Many of us have recognized that for a long time and have tried to say in a clear way through different pieces of legislation that food should never be used as a tool of foreign policy. But we stumble into that on a regular basis. As a result of that, we damage significantly the producer, because in the business of trade, one of the things that American agriculture has been able to establish over the years is two very important items. First of all, they are able to let the world know they can deliver a quality product. The world knows that and appreciates it. But it is also important that the world knows we are a reliable supplier.”