In part one of our examination of what a Biden administration could look like for agriculture, we looked at the results of the 2020 election at the National and state levels. The implications that could have in rural America. We also looked at the changing leadership in the Ag committees.
Today, we continue to hear from Mary Kay Thatcher who is the Senior Manager of Federal Government and Industry Relations for Syngenta. We look at how Thatcher sees the priorities for a Biden administration on topics like trade and the environment. She examines where rural America will find agreement with a Biden administration and where things may look a little different.
As with yesterday, everything that we are discussing hinges on three points:
- Joe Biden wins the White House
- Republicans maintain control of the Senate
- Democrats keep control of the House of Representatives.
The environment and climate change are definitely areas that the Biden campaign was focused on and that had the attention of many in Agriculture. The Trump administration had rolled back many regulations that the agriculture industry found to be invasive or over-reaching in their nature. Democrats campaigned heavily on the climate and there was much talk about the ?Green New Deal.? Thatcher says that there will still be a lot of talk about the environment and initiatives will be talked about and pushed, but to have the cooperation of the Senate, the Biden administration will probably have to scale back some of the initiatives that they touted on the campaign trail and find places for compromise.
That also does not rule out the use of executive orders to implement changes and rollback some Trump administration orders in regards to environmental policy. Republicans and Democrats have both been railing against the number of executive orders issued under both the Obama and Trump administrations, respectively.
One of those Trump orders called for the repeal of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. Republicans, farm groups, and producers called the clean water rule an overreach by the Federal government into affairs controlled by the states. The rule could govern waterways that had nothing to do with interstate commerce, and farmers feared it would levy hefty fines on them for just doing basic maintenance on their crop acres.
The Trump administration had campaigned on pulling back the WOTUS rule, and President Trump did exactly that. The President implemented his own version called the ?Navigable Waters Protection Act.? This act recognized the authority of states to control their own waterways, and farmers felt it gave them a chance to run their operation and protect the quality of the environment without burdensome regulations.
Mary Kay Thatcher says to not be surprised to see WOTUS be a focal point once again. Joe Biden was Vice President in the Obama administration, and he will feel pressure to try and reinstate some of the policies that were made during their eight years in office. Also, Thatcher says that Dicamba could also be a bigger issue under the Biden administration. Thatcher said there may be pressure on him to examine those EPA decisions with his own chief of the agency. Thatcher said that this is nothing new. Presidents have been looking at the policies of their predecessors for some time. It has certainly happened under the Trump administration, and Thatcher expects it to continue under Biden.
Another concern that was raised during this campaign was how would a Biden administration work with China? Would there be a fall back on the Phase One Trade Agreement? Would there be an immediate easement of tariffs? Thatcher says that while she expects to see Biden try and turn down the temperature on relations with China, she does not see him removing tariffs unless he is going to get something in return. Thatcher also sees Biden taking a different course in dealing with China. Where President Trump decided to go alone, Thatcher believes that Biden will engage with a coalition that can deal with China in the strength of a group.
Thatcher also believes that one area where rural America will find a strong ally in Joe Biden is on the subject of immigration reform. Many Ag groups have been pushing for commonsense immigration policies that allow rural America to tap into the resources of season workers from other countries, without the hurdles of immigration policy.
Thatcher looks at other areas of benefit to farmers and rural America in the form of carbon credits, healthcare, and infrastructure that will likely be addressed in a Biden administration.
There is still more to come from this discussion with Mary Kay Thatcher on how the next four years could shape up. Tomorrow we will wrap up by looking at the makeup of Congress and how that can play into agriculture policies. We will also talk about concerns that Thatcher has about the lack of bipartisanship in rural America.
