Agricultural exports are significant to farmers and the U.S. economy. With the productivity of U.S. agriculture growing faster than domestic demand, farmers and agriculturally oriented firms rely on export markets to sustain prices and revenue. The trade title of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill; P.L. 115-334) authorized export market development programs and export credit guarantee programs from FY2019 to FY2023 to expand foreign markets for U.S. farmers and food manufacturers. Subsequent legislation extended the authorizations through FY2026 (P.L. 119-37). These market expansion programs derive their statutory authorities from the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-501), as amended. The trade title of the 2018 farm bill also includes international food assistance programs and international technical assistance and exchange programs and provisions, which are not addressed in this In Focus.
In 2025, U.S. food and agricultural exports totaled $171 billion, and U.S. imports totaled $212 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $41 billion (Figure 1) according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data. Bulk commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice, are the leading U.S. farm exports. Leading consumer-oriented exports include tree nuts, dairy, meat and poultry, fruits, and vegetables. In 2025, about 50% of U.S. agricultural exports were destined for the top four U.S. export markets: Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and Japan.
| Figure 1 . Value of U.S. Agricultural Trade |
Figure is interactive in the HTML version of this report.
<script type="text/javascript">//Based on IAG in AP 7.4.1 (Revised 20240624) $(function () { $('#IAG-3047542611').bind('mousedown', function () { /* saveRptHighChartClick(); */ }); //#### HIGHCHART LIBRARIES ####// var files = ["https://code.highcharts.com/highcharts.js","https://code.highcharts.com/highcharts-more.js","https://code.highcharts.com/modules/exporting.js","https://code.highcharts.com/modules/export-data.js","https://code.highcharts.com/modules/accessibility.js"], loaded = 0; if (typeof window["HighchartsEditor"] === "undefined") { window.HighchartsEditor = { ondone: [cl], hasWrapped: false, hasLoaded: false }; include(files[0]); } else { if (window.HighchartsEditor.hasLoaded) { cl(); } else { window.HighchartsEditor.ondone.push(cl); } } function isScriptAlreadyIncluded(src) { var scripts = document.getElementsByTagName("script"); for (var i = 0; i < scripts.length; i++) { if (scripts[i].hasAttribute("src")) { if ((scripts[i].getAttribute("src") || "").indexOf(src) >= 0 || (scripts[i].getAttribute("src") === "http://code.highcharts.com/highcharts.js" && src === "https://code.highcharts.com/stock/highstock.js")) { return true; } } } return false; } function check() { if (loaded === files.length) { for (var i = 0; i < window.HighchartsEditor.ondone.length; i++) { try { window.HighchartsEditor.ondone[i](); } catch (e) { console.error(e); } } window.HighchartsEditor.hasLoaded = true; } } function include(script) { function next() { ++loaded; if (loaded < files.length) { include(files[loaded]); } check(); } if (isScriptAlreadyIncluded(script)) { return next(); } var sc = document.createElement("script"); sc.src = script; sc.type = "text/javascript"; sc.onload = function () { next(); }; document.head.appendChild(sc); } function each(a, fn) { if (typeof a.forEach !== "undefined") { a.forEach(fn); } else { for (var i = 0; i < a.length; i++) { if (fn) { fn(a[i]); } } } } var inc = {}, incl = []; each(document.querySelectorAll("script"), function (t) { inc[t.src.substr(0, t.src.indexOf("?"))] = 1; }); function cl() { if (typeof window["Highcharts"] !== "undefined") { //#### HIGHCHART LIBRARIES END ####// //##### CRS THEME START (v1.2, 20220510)#####// Highcharts.theme = { colors: ['#0C90FC', '#003865', '#F1B434', '#7060A8', '#6CC8BD', '#757048', '#B4C7D0', '#D36127'], chart: {backgroundColor: 'white',}, title: { style: { color: 'black', font: '15px "Calibri", Verdana, sans-serif', fontWeight: 'bold' } }, subtitle: { style: { color: 'black', font: '14px "Calibri", Verdana, sans-serif' }}, credits: { enabled: false }, legend: { itemStyle: { fontFamily: '"Calibri", Verdana, sans-serif', fontSize: '14px', color: 'black', "text-decoration": 'none !important' }, verticalAlign: 'top', itemMarginBottom: 7, }, yAxis: { title: { style: { font: '14px "Calibri", Verdana, sans-serif', fontWeight: 'bold', color: 'black'} }, labels: { style: { font: '14px "Calibri", Verdana,sans-serif', color: 'black'}}, }, xAxis: { title: { style: { font: '14px "Calibri", Verdana, sans-serif', fontWeight: 'bold', color: 'black'}, y: 8 }, labels: { style: { font: '14px "Calibri", Verdana, sans-serif', color: 'black' }, }, lineColor: 'black', lineWidth: 0.5 } }; Highcharts.setOptions(Highcharts.theme); Highcharts.setOptions({ lang: {thousandsSep: ','}, chart: {style: {fontFamily: 'Calibri'}}, exporting: { enabled: false } }); //##### CRS THEME END #####// //#### START chart elements before Highcharts container ####// //#### END chart elements before the Highcharts container ####// var options = { //#### START code inside Highcharts.chart('container', { ####// accessibility:{ description:'A line graph that shows the U.S. agricultural trade balance with columns indicating the dollar values of U.S. agricultural exports and imports from 2016 to 2025.' } , title: { text: null }, subtitle: { text: null }, xAxis: { categories: ['2016', '2017', '2018', '2019', '2020', '2021', '2022', '2023', '2024', '2025'], tickWidth: 1, tickLength: 5, crosshair: true, }, yAxis: [{ title: { text: 'Billions', rotation: -89.9 }, min: -50, max: 250, tickInterval: 50, gridLineColor: '#F3F3F3', }], tooltip: { headerFormat: '{point.key}', formatter: function () { let seriesColor = this.series.color; let formattedValue = this.y.toLocaleString('en-US'); return `${this.key.replace('FY', 'FY20')}Source: CRS from USDA's Global Agricultural Trade System data. Data are not adjusted for inflation. Trade balance constructed as imports subtracted from exports.
The U.S. agricultural trade surplus peaked at $40.1 billion in 2011. It has since fallen and was a trade deficit in 2019 and between 2022 and 2025. Many attribute the rise in U.S. food and agricultural imports to increasing domestic demand for imported, consumer-oriented goods such as fruits, vegetables, alcoholic beverages, beef, and coffee products.
The trade title of a farm bill generally contains reauthorizations and amendments for agricultural export programs and other trade-related provisions.
Export promotion programs are authorized under a single Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitation (ATPF) umbrella program administered by USDA. Programs are authorized to receive mandatory funding of $255 million annually through FY2026, as extended (7 U.S.C. §5623, P.L. 119-37).
The farm bill authorizes USDA to fund MAP and FMD activities in Cuba, which otherwise would be prohibited (7 U.S.C. §5623(f)(4)).
The farm bill authorizes $1 billion in export credit guarantees annually through FY2026, as extended, for exports to emerging markets (7 U.S.C. §5622 note, P.L. 119-37). Additionally, $5.5 billion is available annually with no funding expiration date (7 U.S.C. §5641(b)). Export credit guarantees are carried out under two programs.
Under these programs, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) provides payment guarantees on commercial financing and assumes the risk of default on payments by the foreign purchasers on loans to facilitate U.S. exports.
The farm bill authorizes appropriations for the Biotechnology and Agricultural Trade Program with discretionary funding of $2 million through FY2026, as extended (7 U.S.C. §5679, P.L. 119-37). The program funds grants for public and private sector projects that address nontariff regulatory barriers (e.g., SPS) to U.S. agricultural exports.
For FY2024 and FY2025, USDA allocated $300 million annually for a new export promotion program called the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). In November 2025, USDA announced $285 million in funding availability for the America First Trade Promotion Program (AFTPP), a new export promotion program that runs through FY2028 and operates under RAPP regulations (7 C.F.R. §1489). AFTPP and RAPP are authorized and funded by the CCC Charter Act (15 U.S.C. §714c(f)).
USDA uses the same CCC authority to fund the Quality Samples Program (QSP), which promotes U.S. agricultural products. QSP is annually funded at $2.5 million.
The FY2025 budget reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21) is to provide USDA $285 million annually from mandatory CCC funding for a supplemental agricultural trade promotion program indefinitely starting in FY2027 (7 U.S.C. §5623a).
As Congress considers a next farm bill and issues related to U.S. agricultural trade promotion, it may evaluate, reauthorize, modify, or end existing programs or establish new programs and initiatives. Congress may also evaluate U.S. agricultural trade policy and objectives.
Export Promotion Programs. Critics of export promotion programs claim the programs provide federal support for activities that private firms could otherwise fund. Supporters claim the programs keep U.S. agricultural products competitive overseas, diversify market opportunities, help generate additional farm income, and increase farm and food sector jobs. Some U.S. agricultural trade and producer groups have sought increased funding for export promotion and market development programs.
Trade Policy. Some U.S. government officials and industry stakeholders have expressed interest in addressing certain policies of U.S. trading partners that may be impeding U.S. agricultural exports; others seek to address foreign export and import competition. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR's) annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers for 2026 highlights a range of tariff and nontariff trade barriers.
In the 119th Congress, the trade title of H.R. 7567, the farm bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Agriculture, addresses some of the issues mentioned above. Several provisions in H.R. 7567 incorporate aspects of stand-alone bills on export promotion and agricultural trade policy (e.g., H.R. 1086, H.R. 2322/S. 1119, and H.R. 5620).
H.R. 7567 would nearly double mandatory CCC funding for ATPF programs beginning in FY2027 for a total of $500 million and further increase to $533 million annually for FY2028 through FY2031. Another provision would create an FMD subprogram that would address infrastructure deficiencies in foreign markets that could damage U.S. agricultural exports. The bill would repeal the export program established by P.L. 119-21 and repeal the provision prohibiting MAP from assisting the U.S. mink industry (7 U.S.C. §5623 note).
H.R. 7567 would require USDA and USTR to negotiate with foreign governments to ensure the right to use common names for U.S. agricultural and food products in foreign markets that might otherwise be prohibited due to geographical indication protections. Another provision would establish an interagency agricultural trade enforcement task force to identify agricultural trade barriers that are "vulnerable to dispute settlement" under trade agreements and to enforce trade agreement violations, with a particular focus on India's agricultural subsidies. The bill also would create an interagency working group to monitor and assess trade-related information on seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables and coordinate on trade actions and investigations.
The trade title in H.R. 7567 also proposes reporting requirements. For example, the Government Accountability Office would be required to submit a report to Congress on policy options for USDA to support the competitiveness of U.S. seafood producers in global and domestic markets. Other provisions would require USDA along with USTR to submit a report to Congress on how potential changes to or termination of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement may affect U.S. agriculture and a report on the effect on U.S. beef and cattle markets due to changes to U.S. tariff-rate quotas on Argentine beef imports.