Capital Update – For the Week Ending Feb. 6, 2026

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New Trade Deals Concluded with Central American Countries

What happened: The White House recently concluded new trade deals with two Central American nations, agreements hailed by NPPC.

El Salvador and Guatemala, which were part of the 2004 U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, signed their respective reciprocal trade agreement with the United States in late January after negotiating a framework deal last November.

Both countries agreed that any sanitary-phytosanitary measures must be science- and risk-based and if they result in trade restrictions, must be removed. Furthermore, they cannot adopt or maintain SPS measures that are incompatible with U.S. or international standards.

Under the agreements, El Salvador will continue to be subject to a 15% tariff on goods sent to the United States, and Guatemala will have a 10% duty. Specific to U.S. pork exports, both countries must:

• Recognize U.S. food safety requirements as satisfying their domestic requirements.
• Accept USDA's official list of U.S. establishments eligible to export pork and pork products to their markets.
• Not impose additional facility registration requirements on U.S. meat processors.
• Accept USDA's Export Certificate of Wholesomeness, including digitally signed forms, and not require a separate Certificate of Free Sale.

NPPC's take: NPPC supports enhancing market access for U.S. pork to El Salvador and Guatemala and will continue urging the Trump administration to negotiate trade deals that boost U.S. agricultural exports.

Why it matters: The U.S. pork industry is highly dependent on exports, which in 2024 topped $8.6 billion and equated to an average of more than $66 in value from each hog marketed. U.S. pork exports account for about 25% of total production annually and support more than 140,000 U.S. jobs.

Trump, India's Modi Finalize Trade Agreement

What happened: The United States and India finalized a trade agreement that will see them lower tariffs on each other's exports and India buy more U.S. products, including agricultural goods.

The United States will cut its reciprocal tariff rate on Indian goods from 25% to 18% in exchange for the Asian nation cutting its tariff to zero and also reducing nontariff barriers on American exports. It also will eliminate a separate 25% duty on India in exchange for that country forgoing further purchases of Russian oil.

Almost a year ago, President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the start of negotiations on a "multi-sector bilateral trade agreement." It included a pledge from India to buy more U.S. oil, gas, and military equipment and set a goal of increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.

NPPC's take: NPPC supports the trade deal with India, which will strengthen U.S. agricultural market access and reduce - and eventually eliminate - tariff and nontariff barriers to American goods. The agreement also will ensure India adopts science-based technical, sanitary, and phytosanitary standards.

Why it matters: In fiscal 2025 - October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025 - total trade between the United States and India was nearly $132 billion, and India had a trade surplus with the United States of $41 billion. U.S. agricultural exports to India in 2024 were about $2.3 billion, while Indian agricultural exports to the United States were nearly $3.1 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.

Vaden: USDA Employees Moving Out of DC Starting This Summer

What happened: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is moving forward with reorganizing the agency, including relocating personnel to five regional hubs around the country, beginning this summer, according to USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden.

Talking about the reorganization during a recent event at the National Agricultural Law Center in Arkansas, Vaden said: "When you combine shrinking budgets, the increasing cost of living in Washington, D.C., and the needs of a department that is focused not on urban America but rural America, it makes the most sense to get the largest number of our employees to places where they can have the quality of life that they deserve on a government salary." He said USDA employees will be "in places that are actually closer to the communities we are charged with serving."

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the reorganization almost a year ago, and the department took public comments on it last summer. According to agriculture industry sources, the majority of the 14,000-plus comments were against moving USDA employees out of the Washington, D.C., area.

NPPC's public policy office is located in D.C. In comments submitted on the reorganization, NPPC raised concerns about not having USDA employees in Washington available to work with D.C.-based agriculture industry associations, which combined represent most of the country's farmers. There is also the question of those USDA employees being able to work directly with members of Congress, other federal agencies, and foreign embassies, which handle trade issues. It pointed out that the majority of USDA employees are located in the field already and are close to the farmers they serve.

NPPC's take: NPPC supports USDA's efforts to best utilize personnel, eliminate redundant positions, and better manage agency spending, employees and facilities. However, it remains apprehensive about moving department employees and functions out of the D.C. area.

NPPC suggested USDA do a "more thoughtful" analysis of the impacts of the decision to avoid unintended consequences and serve the long-term interests of the U.S. agriculture industry and its producers.

Why it matters: During President Trump's first term, USDA relocated the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Research Service to Kansas City. That move resulted in half the employees of those agencies choosing not to relocate, leaving NIFA and ERS unable to fully carry out their missions.

U.S. Senate Honors Women in Agriculture

What happened: In recognition of 2026 being designated by the United Nations as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, the U.S. Senate recently approved a bipartisan resolution to support the designation and "recognize and honor the critical role of women in agriculture."

The primary sponsors of the resolution, passed by unanimous consent, were Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), both of whom serve on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Klobuchar is the ranking member. Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) are sponsoring companion legislation in the U.S. House.

"The United States proudly recognizes its agricultural heritage and acknowledges the vital role that women have played in advancing agriculture both domestically and globally," the resolution reads in part.

NPPC's take: NPPC strongly supports women in agriculture. After a federal court in 2001 ordered a split between NPPC and the National Pork Board, NPPC elected Barb Determan, a pork producer from Early, IA, as its first president. Since then, four women have led the organization's board of directors, which currently has three women members.

Why it matters: According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, women make up more than a third of all U.S. farm operators and increasingly are leaders in farm management, agribusiness, research, and advocacy. Fifty eight percent of all farms had at least one female producer, and those farms accounted for 41% of U.S. agricultural sales and 46% of all U.S. farmland. Women currently lead the department of agriculture in 11 states.

Congress Approves Funding Package to Keep Government Operating

What happened: The House of Representatives last Tuesday narrowly approved a Senate-passed funding package that keeps most of the federal government operating for the rest of fiscal 2026 - through September 30 - and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until the end of this week.

On January 20, the House passed a package of spending bills funding the departments of Defense (War), Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security (DHS), Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Transportation. But the Senate then stripped full-year funding for DHS, opting for a two-week extension for that agency. The amended package had to go back to the House for approval.

Democrats, primarily, had threatened to shut down the government over objections to how DHS's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency was enforcing immigration laws. They want reforms to ICE in the wake of its agents killing two protesters during riots in Minneapolis.

While lawmakers said they would not approve DHS's full-year funding without changes to ICE, that agency was funded through fiscal 2029 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law in 2025. Other DHS agencies, however, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration, would be adversely affected if the DHS fiscal 2026 appropriations bill is not approved.

NPPC's take: NPPC supports funding federal programs and opposes efforts to affect public policy through government shutdowns. At the beginning of the last shutdown, which ran from October to mid-November 2025, NPPC had to ask Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to designate as "essential" USDA personnel who publish the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Market News, which provides meat producers with transparent data on price trends, as well as purchase and sales information. NPPC also pushed for the retention of other USDA workers, including Food Safety and Inspection Service meat inspectors and laboratory employees.

Why it matters: Without annual funding bills in place, important government programs-including ones that benefit agriculture-and the personnel who implement and administer them would be furloughed and negatively affect those who rely on them.

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