Garamendi Applauds Agreement with South Korea for American-grown Rice

Statement

Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) applauded an agreement between the United States and South Korea on improved market access for American-grown rice.

Under the agreement announced today by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture, South Korea will provide access for 132,304 tons of U.S. rice annually, valued at approximately $110 million. South Korea also agreed to provide increased transparency and predictability around the tendering and auctioning for U.S. rice exported to the Korean market.

"With a $4.4 billion farm-gate value, our district is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country," Garamendi said. "As our region continues to feed the world, I've made it a priority in Congress to support the local agricultural community. Today's announcement is a major victory for American rice farmers and builds upon the work we've done this year to support Northern California farmers. For example, this August I hosted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in Sacramento County for a discussion with local farmers. I urged Secretary Perdue at the meeting to include California-grown walnuts and all other tree nuts in a USDA program to help farmers impacted by retaliatory tariffs. Following the Secretary's meeting with local farmers, USDA adopted this important change for walnut and other tree nut growers, providing millions of dollars in relief."

"I thank Ambassador Robert Lighthizer and USDA Secretary Perdue for securing this access to the Korean market for California's rice, and I hope they will make improving access to other valuable export markets like Japan a priority in future trade negotiations," Garamendi concludes.

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