From Nashville: President Trump makes an address on agriulture, trade deals and the value of the American farmer to the nation’s economy.
President Trump’s remarks are the first time a President has addressed the Farm Bureau national convention in over 25 years, when George Bush 41 addressed the group.
In his speech the President noted his recent tax cuts and how the vast majority of farmers will escape the Estate Tax, which taxes estates above $5.49 million, at 40%. Many states also had an estate tax.
Under the recent tax cut passed in December, 2017, estates are not taxed unless they are above $11 million — double what it had been. And come 2024, it’s set to expire.
The President also noted his cutting of many federal regulations, particularly the Waters of the United States [ WOTUS] proposed by the EPA which would have extended EPA control over virtually every bit of water in the nation – even temporary standing water on a farmer’s field. Farmers say they faced a bureaucratic nightmare of government control over their land
Getting rid of the WOTUS regulation was a top priority of Farm lobbying groups, which the President did early on in his first year, via an Executive Order.
Over his first year in office, cutting back on federal regulations has been a top priority for the President. When he took office in January 2017, the Federal Register of regulations was approximately 100,000 pages long. It’s now down to about 62,000 pages — a drop of approximately 40%, with further cutbacks in federal regulations remaining a top priority.
A rewrite of NAFTA is also a priority of the President. International trade is a major source of farm incomes, and the President noted he was working to improve previous trade agreements that were unfair to American agriculture. Many nations deny some American farm products from being sold in their nations, to protect their agriculture industry.
The President also said he would make it a priority to expand and improve broadband connections to rural areas.
Following his formal remarks, the President signed to Executive Orders to install towers in rural areas that would bring the broadband connectivity to those areas now without that connection. Many have compared this to Rural Electrification under FDR back in the 1930s, that is needed to allow farmers to participate in the modern economy.
