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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins: 'Every Day We Are In Conversation With China' About Trade, Tariffs
Forbes Breaking News
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4/28/2025
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks to Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union."
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00:00
Here with me now is Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Secretary Rollins, thank you so much for
00:06
being here. I want to start with those falling economic numbers for President Trump in our new
00:11
poll out this morning. He just hit the lowest approval on the economy ever, including his
00:16
first term. Two-thirds of Americans roughly disapprove of his job on tariffs. What does
00:23
this say about his economic strategy? Well, Dana, first of all, thank you so much for having me on
00:30
again and really appreciate the time. So I think the first and most important thing that is really
00:37
relevant to today is this president has never, ever governed by poll. And I just saw those same
00:44
numbers, too, so I haven't had a chance to dig in. But the second thing is that every, you know,
00:48
there are 100 different polls that say 100 different things. At the end of the day,
00:52
President Trump is resolutely focused on ensuring that we are realigning the American economy to put
01:00
Americans first. And again, he's never worried about this poll yesterday or that poll tomorrow.
01:05
He has a vision, and I saw it working with him in the first term, see it again the second term,
01:10
that we have to put America first. And as the Secretary of Agriculture, I have now seen firsthand
01:16
how our products and our people are treated around the world. And it's just time to realign that.
01:22
So that's what he's doing. And really, really, I think that we're really excited about what this
01:27
means for the future, even if there's some uncertainty today.
01:30
Well, you mentioned uncertainty, and I understand, you know, what you're saying about the polls.
01:35
But what the new CNN poll and others like it reflect is uncertainty and also pain. And people are
01:45
pretty upset and worried, concerned about their economic situation.
01:53
Right. Well, I think there's a couple of things to note here. The first is this, that in the first
01:58
100 days, which we're about to mark this week, I think, the first 100 days, there's been a 95%
02:04
decrease in illegal border crossings. Number two, inflation has come down, even if just a little
02:10
bit, but for the first time since the last Trump administration, so border security, bringing the
02:15
cost of goods down. Number three, you know, law and order and arresting terrorists, 74 terrorists
02:22
have been arrested in my world, in agriculture and making America healthy again. We've had a lot of
02:26
accomplishments, energy, et cetera. That while we're talking about the economy, Dana, to your
02:31
question, we are in that time of uncertainty. But the prices and costs for the average American
02:37
consumer are on their way down, while at the same time, we've got $7 trillion that has been
02:44
basically promised to reshore back into America for jobs, for Americans, et cetera, as we're realigning
02:51
the government. So again, I believe that that poll is just one snapshot, perhaps, of one day that may
02:56
not even be entirely accurate. But we, again, are convicted and resolute on this plan. We move forward.
03:03
We've got a hundred countries that have, you know, approached us for retrading and trade
03:09
renegotiations. And what that means for the American people is real certainty and real prosperity moving
03:16
forward. So let's talk about that. I do just want to say, because during the 2024 campaign, the price
03:22
of eggs got a lot of attention. They're now about $6 a dozen. So it's still pretty high. But let's look
03:29
forward, Secretary Rollins. You said that there are, what, a hundred deals that are almost in the
03:34
works. The president told Time magazine, quote, I have made 200 deals. He didn't give us any details
03:42
about what those could be, what countries he's talking about. Has he actually inked any trade deals and
03:49
with whom?
03:51
Well, Dana, first of all, let me address the eggs, because that's an important point. So when we took
03:57
over, when the president was sworn in, the price of eggs had increased 237% under the last
04:04
administration. I mean, we obviously food under the last administration, the average increase
04:08
was 25 to 30%, but eggs specifically. And I know I've got a bunch of kids in a big family and
04:14
a lot of Americans are trying to feed their family. Eggs are so important to that. And as they're
04:18
increasing that significant amount, that was, that was a big issue. The president jokes that on day one,
04:23
everyone's yelling at him about the price of eggs. He's like, I just got here. But we unveiled a five
04:28
point plan a little over a month ago. And you mentioned the numbers, but when you look at the
04:32
wholesale cost of eggs, which drives the retail cost, the retail will follow soon. The actual
04:38
wholesale cost of eggs is down 58% in the last six weeks. So other parts of the country, we've seen a
04:46
significant decline in the retail cost. Some parts of the country, it has not followed yet, but it's
04:50
coming. So I think that's an important point to make. Let's focus on the trade and on the deals.
04:55
Yes, for sure. On the deals, we have 100 countries that are knocking on the door. I believe I'm not
05:01
in the room. I'm not negotiating the trade deals. But my understanding is we should have several this
05:07
week that are coming forward that are very, very close. China is a very important one. Every day we
05:13
are in conversation with China, along with those other 99 hundred countries that have come to the
05:18
table. Many countries have already flown to Washington and are meeting with Secretary
05:22
Lutnik, meeting with Secretary Besson, meeting with our USTR, Jameson Greer. And there is a
05:28
tremendous amount of progress on all fronts that we'll see again more this week. You said that
05:34
there are talks with China every day. Who are the talks with and at what level? Because the Chinese
05:40
are saying that's not true. Well, according to our team in Washington, the conversations are ongoing
05:48
regarding multiples of trade. But here, multiples of the trade goods that are coming out and going
05:54
in. But the bottom line with China is this. They need us more than we need them. They need our money.
06:00
They need our markets. They need our consumers and all of the above. So the president has been,
06:05
I believe, exactly correct. I mean, he is the ultimate dealmaker. You know, it's a time where
06:11
we've got to hold China accountable. And in agriculture, year upon year, decade upon decade,
06:17
our goods have been taken advantage of. The trade disparity, the non-trade bearers on top of the
06:24
tariff numbers are insane, whether it's Argentina or China or Brazil or the UK. I could go country by
06:31
country with you and just talk about how they treat our beef, what they do with our pork,
06:36
how our soybeans are taken advantage of. And that's my world, right? The agriculture world.
06:40
But it's true across all lanes of our industry. And on that note, I want to stick with your world
06:45
of agriculture because you said China needs the U.S. But there are some indicators that they're looking
06:52
elsewhere, specifically when it comes to farming. They dramatically cut back on buying U.S. soybeans,
06:58
instead turning to Brazil and Argentina. China is planning to purchase less U.S. pork,
07:04
down 72 percent in just a week. So at least in the short term, it is obviously hurting American
07:11
farmers. What are they supposed to do now? Well, listen, the farmers, no one supports
07:17
President Trump more than our farmers and ranchers in our rural communities. And you're right,
07:23
our soybean farmers, some of our row croppers, some of our pork, et cetera. They certainly are
07:28
being they're more in the crosshairs than a lot of our other agriculture industry. But for the most
07:32
part, from every farmer I've talked to says, we understand this and we are with you. And we also
07:38
know that President Trump will ensure that if there are significant economic damages, that just as in
07:43
the first term under the China deal, phase one, that we will be the harm will be mitigated. And so
07:49
we're already preparing for that. I don't think we're going to need it. But if we do,
07:52
it will be there. But Dana, to answer your question, the bottom line is this.
07:56
We are opening up and expanding markets across the world. I'll be in the U.K. I'll be in Vietnam.
08:02
I will be in Japan. I will be in Brazil. I will be in Peru. This is all in just the coming months
08:07
that in the last administration, we went from a zero dollar trade deficit when President Trump left
08:13
for agriculture to an almost 50 billion dollar trade deficit after the Biden administration on
08:19
agriculture. There just wasn't much effort around the world to open these markets up.
08:24
J.D. Vance was just in India. We see them as a massive trading partner moving forward.
08:30
You know, if we can come to the right resolution in the right terms.
08:32
So you see there will be deals with other countries perhaps to make up for whatever
08:38
the problems are with regard to China. It is going to be a new era of market expansion
08:47
around the world. And our team is so committed to that. So I think we fix a lot of what's wrong
08:53
with the China and the Brazil, et cetera. But we also open up new markets. I mean, people,
08:58
countries are knocking on our door right now. They want our goods. Our agriculture products are the
09:03
best in the world. They're the most productive. We feed not only our country, we feed the world.
09:07
They're 100 percent safe. And so that's what a lot of these countries are asking for.
09:12
And that's what our incredible team in Washington is moving toward.
09:15
Before I let you go and Trump 1.0, when the farmers were hurting with the first round of trade
09:23
negotiations with China, there was a bailout from the federal government. Will that happen again?
09:30
Right. Well, we will ensure, first of all, the prayer is that that doesn't need to happen.
09:38
But secondly, if it does for the short term, just as in Trump 1, we are preparing for that. I think
09:45
it's important to note, though, that we won't really know the consequences really until harvest time,
09:50
which will be later this summer, early in the fall. But we are watching it and analyzing it
09:54
every single day. And we're preparing for it. I'm on constant conversations with our friends
09:59
on the Hill, where the funding comes from. And everyone is committed to ensuring our farmers
10:04
and our ranchers, which food security is national security. So it isn't just about protecting the
10:09
farmers and ranchers. It's protecting the great American experiment and the American dream.
10:15
Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, thank you so much for being here this morning. Appreciate it.
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