USDA Deal-Maker Visits Leesburg
Published: Friday, August 29, 2025
Luke Lindberg, U.S. Department of Agriculture's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, addressed a crowd of landowners and ag supporters at the Tom Farms annual appreciation event last Thursday evening in Leesburg. The former South Dakota Trade president and CEO and Import-Export Bank chief strategy officer was confirmed by Congress on Aug. 2.
In his keynote speech, Lindberg shared that he has a three-step process to bolstering trade for U.S. agriculture: making sure to have the right agreements in place; building long-term, sustainable trade partnerships; and providing accountability within the trade agreements.
"That's really the hard part—getting those deals and the countries into a negotiating position where we can put farmers first and get a better shake," he said.
He added that in the past trade partners have put farmers and ranchers at a disadvantage by working outside the margins of agreements.
"We will not stand for that," he said.
Lindberg said many countries have erected non-tariff barriers on U.S. agricultural goods over time, which has barred U.S. farmers and ranchers from having equal trade opportunities around the world. Barriers range from how a product is grown or raised to how those products are processed.
"We are seeking to balance trade with the world," he said.
"China has historically been an important market for our soybeans. It's unequivocally so. China's also a bad actor in many respects when it comes to international trade, international relations. They're in direct competition with us and want a different world than the one that America is offering," he said.
Currently, Lindberg said actions are being made to balance the trade relationship, and he is confident that President Trump is "the quintessential deal maker and he'll be able to do it again."
New trade deals being targeted include deals with Japan, South Korea, the European Union and specifically, the United Kingdom.
"The United States agriculture has been interested in a deal with the United Kingdom for many, many years, and we've never been able to consummate a deal with them on agriculture. In fact, agriculture has been left off the table with the UK for a long time," he said.
He also noted that there is a $4.5 billion new market access opportunity in Japan.
"We're continuing to see these agreements come into place, and as they come into place, the team at USDA is going to be ready to help position farmers to get over there and put willing buyers and willing sellers in the same room," Lindberg said.
He said a big focus at USDA is to build trade relationships and foster them to achieve mutual benefit for farmers in the U.S. and those countries entering the trade agreements.
When asked when farmers can see some relief from low commodity prices, Lindberg was optimistic that the markets will be opened in time to support U.S. agriculture.
"There is a boon on the horizon for American agriculture. We know that the harvest is happening soon, combines are getting fired up, and farmers need markets to sell into. And, so, we are acting with urgency to make sure that those foreign markets are available to them and that the demand generation is created for them to win," he said.
Lindberg said he is confident in Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins' leadership on the agricultural front.
"I have really embraced the agenda that Rollins has brought forward as secretary of agriculture," he said.
He also noted that the policies within the One Big Beautiful Bill doubled resources for international agricultural trade.
Moving into a time of questions, Lindberg fielded inquiries ranging from international trade and relationships to the impact of artificial intelligence on trade.
Lindberg noted that the best trade opportunities are those that are currently opening in South Korea, the U.K. and Japan. He also said that the way to stay ahead of international competitors is to "out innovate" them in the agricultural sector.
When asked how global warming would impact agriculture and trade, he said the only thing that can be known for sure is that the weather patterns are changing globally, which will inevitably affect farming.
In answer to a question on the impact of artificial intelligence on trade, Lindberg said that A.I. can be used to predict a new policy initiative in another country based on media focus. A.I. is also currently being used to negotiate between companies in the U.S., and this can foreseeably be transferred into trade negotiating.
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