Posted: 4/26/05
Oil, not food, is main reason for deficit, senator says
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
The trade deficit of the United States is not about food, but it is hurting the farm economy, according to Senator Norm Coleman.
Coleman spoke to area reporters in a teleconference on April 14. He addressed several subjects in the 30-minute session.
The question about the trade deficit was posed by this reporter. It originally came from dairy farmer Ed Taylor of Lanesboro, who wanted to know this: ìHow and when are we going to resolve this trade deficit? It is just released as $61 billion in February. We bought more food than we sold. If this continues, it will come home to roost with a vengeance.î
Coleman responded that the trade deficit was not about food. ìWeíre on the net positive with food,î he said.
ìOur producers do well by trade. The trade deficit is unfortunately due to oil. That buries us in terms of trade deficit. But itís not about a food deficit. Agriculture trade is a significant net plus.î
Coleman said he is pushing for an energy bill that has an 8 billion gallon production of ethanol by the year 2012.
ìTrade is not the enemy of the farmer. In fact, most of the producers that I talk to are very supportive of trade, because weíre benefitting by it. But we are getting buried by energy costs. What your farmer should be concerned about is the cost of natural gas. Natural gas plays a big part in the cost of fertilizer. The price of natural gas is through the roof. So we need an energy bill, we need a renewable fuel standard in the energy bill, we need to significantly up the production of renewables.î
Coleman would also like to see a 20 percent mix of ethanol in fuel, up from the current mix of 10 percent.
The other issue in the trade deficit problem is China, Coleman said. China is not following intellectual property rights, he said. ìThey donít play fair in the trade wars. Thatís our big challenge.î
ìIím optimistic about the farm economy, Iím optimistic about the rural economy,î Coleman said.
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