At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Pressure Cooker: Competition Issues in the Seed & Fertilizer Industries,” Senator Dick Durbin, Ranking Member of the committee and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, criticized the Trump Administration’s trade policies for negatively impacting American farmers. Durbin argued that these policies have created uncertainty in agricultural markets, particularly for Illinois farmers.
Durbin stated, “His [President Trump’s] tariffs on China, even as they change from one week to the next, are bad news for Illinois farmers and good news for Brazilian farmers, who have seen their sales of soybeans to China increase by $2 billion this year.”
He further noted, “Tariffs are also good news for Argentina, which has sold $708 million more in soybeans to China this year. Yet President Trump is propping up Argentina’s government with a $40 billion lifeline when American farmers are struggling to stay in business.”
Durbin highlighted concerns about increased Chinese investment in South American agriculture: “The President is in Asia for trade discussions with China. I hope they will be positive. But China is now investing heavily in South American farming, even building megaports there to manage massive shipments of soybeans, corn, and sugar.”
He addressed rising costs faced by local producers: “Illinois farmers are concerned about the increasing cost of doing business, especially the cost of seed, fertilizer, and equipment.”
Market concentration was also discussed. Durbin said, “One problem is that there are just a few big corporations in these sectors, where market concentration reduces competition. The Committee has examined these dynamics in other parts of the food industry, such as meat packing and groceries.”
He referenced previous efforts to address antitrust issues: “It’s a complex issue, which is why I joined Chairman Grassley back in April to question why the Department of Justice planned to close its Chicago field office that specializes in agricultural antitrust issues. The Administration has not provided a response.”
On policy consistency from Washington D.C., Durbin remarked: “Farmers need policy certainty from Washington. But these past ten months, that’s not what we’ve given them.”
Regarding ethanol legislation efforts he added: “The Chairman and I cosponsored a bill to allow for year-round E15 ethanol sales. It almost passed Congress, until Donald Trump and Elon Musk stopped it and opposed the bill.”
Durbin also mentioned workforce shortages affecting agriculture: “Farmers also face severe workforce shortages—70 percent of farmworkers in the United States are foreign born—but the way this Administration has targeted immigrant farmworkers is another sign of how this Administration values farmers. USDA has forced out more than 15,000 employees since January, and farmers are seeing widespread delays in services.”
He continued by emphasizing limits of financial relief programs: “My farmers, all farmers need help. No amount of financial relief can replace lost markets, especially if relief payments simply go from farmers straight to a handful of seed, fertilizer, and equipment companies.”
Addressing concerns over corporate practices within agribusiness sectors he stated: “Big companies say their size helps them compete and survive while providing consumers with a consistent, reliable product. Farmers disagree, saying seed and fertilizer are not affordable, come with strict contracts and requirements that prevent farmers from exploring alternatives, pressure tactics that keep farmers trapped as customers, and zero transparency on how personal farming data gets collected and sent to who-knows-where, for who-knows-what.”
Finally Durbin connected current economic challenges with broader trends highlighted by recent Nobel laureates: “This month, the Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to three economists who believe that economic growth happens when conditions exist that allow new innovations and technologies to rise up to replace old ones. Today’s witnesses will report on whether that is actually happening.”
