PAI Supports Major Steps Being Taken to Protect American Food Supply from the Reach of the CCP

We know for a fact that China’s communist government in Beijing is trying to manipulate and influence America’s domestic food production and steal from U.S. consumers. Fortunately, President Trump took action this week to secure and protect America’s food supply. Meanwhile, states like Florida are stepping up to prevent foreign attacks. 

President Signs EO to Protect Defense and Agriculture Supply Chains

This week, President Trump signed an Executive Order to increase the domestic production of chemicals critical to American defense, technology, and food sectors. The order invokes the Defense Production Act and directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of War to ensure that America has an adequate supply of both phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides. 

The EO comes after the White House determined that these resources are “central to American economic and national security.” That is because these materials allow farmers to produce the agricultural products necessary to feed America. Among other things, glyphosate is essential to U.S. farmers because it is used to eliminate destructive broadleaf weeds and grasses that would otherwise overtake and decimate American farmland. 

If the domestic production of these herbicides is not protected and encouraged, the U.S. would be reliant on products from China. That would make our farmers totally dependent on China for the cultivation of some of our biggest crops, including: 

• Corn

• Cotton

• Soybeans 

• Citrus fruits

• Lettuce 

• Onions

• Tomatoes 

• Wheat 

• Rice Oats

• Nuts

• Apples

The President’s EO will do a number of things to ensure a strong domestic food supply.  It will encourage the government to contract for these products because they are essential to our national security. The order also protects domestically manufactured products from liability from frivolous lawsuits because these materials have already been ruled safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

PAI fully supports this EO and commends President Trump for protecting the independence of American farmers. This is just the beginning because this EO now needs to be codified by Congress. As usual, many states around the country are leading the way. 

States Join Together to Protect Farmers from Dependence on China

While President Trump is protecting access to domestically produced farm products at the federal level, states across the country joined together to do the same. Led by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), lawmakers from states around the country called on Congress to clarify that scientific EPA standards should govern the use of farm products – not politically motivated state regulations. 

As the letter points out, “any state can mandate manufacturers to label products with health information warnings that directly contradict EPA's current safety findings and labeling requirements.” This fact means that liberal states can supersede EPA science when it comes to the safety of agricultural products. The result is a regulatory minefield that threatens to shut down protection of the key chemicals that President Trump just labeled as vital to America’s national security.

Simply put, states should not be authorized to ignore EPA science. These contradictory state standards could eliminate options for domestic farm supplies and make farmers dependent on Chinese companies to grow food. This is just what the CCP wants. The state legislative leaders who signed this important letter are right — it's time for the U.S. Congress to protect America’s food supply chain security by enforcing one EPA health standard. 

Florida Launches Government Unit to Protect Citizens from the CCP

Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the creation of a new unit of the state government focused entirely on addressing the risk posed to consumers by the Chinese government. Specifically, the one-of-a-kind office will focus on protecting Florida consumers from fraud, theft, and data breaches coming from China. 

As we have documented, the Chinese government has allowed and sometimes fostered attacks on American consumers and companies. Without proper protection, U.S. citizens are vulnerable to identity theft, fraud, unlawful data mining, and direct stealing by Chinese operators. Now, Florida will become the first state to establish a governmental mechanism to fight back. 

Operating as the Consumer Harm from International Nefarious Actors (CHINA) Prevention Unit, this new office will proactively protect Floridians by identifying threats and stopping attacks before they happen. The office is another bold step forward in the fight against nefarious activity. 

The Protection America Initiative congratulates and thanks Attorney General Uthmeier for his foresight in establishing the CHINA Prevention Unit in Florida. Combined with federal actions being taken by President Trump, the new group continues to build a firewall against Chinese influence and ill-intentioned interference in the United States. We encourage states around the country to follow Florida’s lead.