A day after returning from the United Kingdom (UK), Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says agriculture is a “big, big deal” in the trade agreement now being negotiated between the U.S. and UK.
“The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 concessions that we received from the UK were for agriculture. It was beef cattle, it was ethanol and the conversations continue on pork,” Rollins told “AgriTalk” host Chip Flory in an exclusive interview on Friday. “I was so proud of President Trump for putting our farmers first as he promised to do.”
During her time in the UK, she met with four cabinet members, her counterpart and three others, and key advisers to the prime minister to work toward striking a deal they’ve “been trying to get it done for 25 years.”
When it comes to non-tariff trade barriers between the U.S. and UK, particularly with beef, Rollins says progress is being made. She prioritizes social media and interviews with the media to talk about the robust, abundant and safe products U.S. farmers grow and produce.
📍Day one in the UK: Kicked off a powerful U.S. agriculture cooperator roundtable at the U.S. Embassy in London.
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) May 12, 2025
We’re building on President Trump’s historic trade announcement and his promise to put farmers FIRST—at home and around the world. 🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/xqsIoDLyAe
While in the UK, she was often asked about chlorinated chicken and hormone filled beef.
“I would immediately push back, and they all seemed a little bit surprised. I think by my final day in the UK, they knew what my answer was going to be. I asked him to go look at the science and understand the data and what we’re producing here is so safe and so reliable,” Rollins says.
When it comes to potential opportunities for the U.S., the ag secretary sees additional potential for:
- pork
- poultry
- rice
- specialty crops
- seafood
While Rollins is quick to point out the U.S. doesn’t agree with the UK on everything, such as net zero goals, she says they “desperately needs our ethanol,” including biofuels, biomass and wood pellets.
“The zero percent tariff on our ethanol is going to play a huge part in them achieving [their net zero] goal and, for our farmers in America, that’s a really big deal,” Rollins says.
“So you see, with Rochambeau’s fleet in the Chesapeake and Washington’s army on the peninsula, your garrison at Yorktown had no chance. Caught, as between my fingers here.” 😁😂
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) May 14, 2025
No, seriously — so grateful for our time at 10 Downing Street today. Grateful too, as America… pic.twitter.com/OKAOtLkSqB
Imports of Live Cattle from Mexico Remain Off Limits Due to New World Screwworm
Prior to leaving for the UK, the U.S. suspended Mexican cattle, horse and bison imports from Mexico because of the threat of New World Screwworm (NWS).
“My commitment to Secretary Villalobos, who is my counterpart in Mexico, was that we weren’t just going to shut the border down and then just go away for a couple of months. This would be a daily discussion with repercussions not just to the farmers and ranchers in his country but also in ours. This is not good for us either in the short term or the long term, but we have to protect our beef cattle industry,” Rollins says. “There were some promises made and data points given to us that we didn’t fully trust were in best interest of our cattle ranchers. That’s why I made that decision, though it wasn’t an easy decision.
While Rollins continues to analyzes the situation and assess next steps, she stresses the real threat the pest poses.
“It has gotten within 700 miles of our southern border in Texas, which is inexcusable and unsustainable and we can’t let it get any closer,” Rollins says.
She says production of sterile flies is being considered and hopes to have some good news to announce on that very soon.
In the mean time, the border will remain closed until Mexico can put more miles between NWS and the U.S. border. A couple weeks ago, NWS was 1,100 miles from the border, Rollins says, but then that gap narrowed.
“There’s just too much at stake. It took us 30 years to eradicate [NWS] the last time, and we just can’t get there again,” she adds.
‘Make America Healthy Again’ Report to be Released May 22
On May 22, a report is expected to be released by supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. What can farmers expect in that report?
“As you can imagine, it’s a work in progress,” Rollins says. “I and my team at USDA, my partners across the Trump cabinet, including Lee Zeldin at EPA, Russell Vought at OMB and Kevin Hassett with the National Economic Council, and, of course, Bobby Kennedy, chair of the committee, just finished a couple hour discussion on that and we’ll be continuing over the weekend. I think it will make some really important points about the chronic diseases in our country, about diabetes in our country and about addiction to medicine and prescriptions. It’s really an all-encompassing report.”
“Of course, my lane is making sure our farmers and ranchers are put first and that we’re able to continue to feed and fuel and provide fiber for not only America, but the rest of the world, so that will be a big part of it. I feel confident President Trump’s vision of putting America first and putting American farmers and ranchers first will be reflective in that document as it comes out next week, and we continue to talk about it,” she continues.
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