Expanding trade policies will reduce burdens on Indiana farmers

BY REP. GREG PENCE
Republican, Indiana District 6

Fellow Hoosiers,

It’s an honor to serve Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District in Congress, and I want to start by saying thank you. I’m humbled that you have entrusted me to serve you for another term in Washington, D.C. During this term in Congress, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and working with so many dedicated farmers and agriculture producers who are not only the backbone of Indiana but our nation. When I came to Congress, I vowed to ensure that Hoosiers always have a seat at the table. That’s why I’m ready to hear what concerns and feedback you may have, and I will roll my sleeves up and get to work on solutions for you.

I want to share some of the projects our office has been working on this year.

In February, I joined my dear friend and late-colleague Jackie Walorski in leading an Indiana Congressional Delegation letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asking the federal government to expand trade policies that reduce burdens on Indiana’s many farmers and agriculture producers. The letter called on the U.S. Trade Representative to prioritize United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) enforcement, supply chain bottleneck solutions, U.S.- U.K. trade negotiations, and trade relations with emerging economies.

I know what a squeeze high input prices are putting on our producers, and that unfortunately you have to pass that onto the consumer. That’s why in March, I sent a letter along with 80 of my fellow lawmakers asking International Trade Commission Chair Jason Kearns to reconsider duties on phosphate fertilizer imported from Morocco and suspend the process to impose new duties on urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer from Trinidad and Tobago. In response, the ITC announced they would forgo any further regulations, which would have exacerbated surging fertilizer prices.

Then in October, I once again led my Indiana colleagues in calling on President Biden and his Administration to use the levers of the federal government to seek inflation relief for the agriculture community, rather than doubling-down on their track record of putting burdensome federal regulations in place.

Our work on your behalf here in Congress is far from over. As we look ahead to a Republican majority in the House next year, we will not only continue but expand our work for Indiana’s Agriculture community. We will be the last line of defense against the Biden Administration’s policies that threaten our farmers, ranchers and producers’ way of life.

As a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, I look forward to moving forward legislation that makes your jobs easier – not harder. We should be working for you, not the other way around. That means deregulation, cutting federal red tape, and so much more.

In maintaining my commitment to having an open dialogue with the agriculture community, I invite anyone who is interested in our work or meeting with us to visit pence.house.gov to learn more.

Since 2019, Rep. Greg Pence has represented the 6th Congressional District of Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Energy. Rep. Pence is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a 1983 graduate of Loyola University Chicago.