In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Agricultural Committee, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and dozens of other food and agriculture groups expressed support for Alexis Taylor’s nomination to the position of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.
Taylor, the current Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, was raised on an Iowa farm. She’s had a long career in public service, including time at the USDA, making her “uniquely qualified for this role,” as the industry groups said.
“Director Taylor is a widely recognized leader on agriculture policy and has the domestic and international experience to shepherd U.S. agriculture through growing global changes of protecting food security, tackling inflation, and expanding markets for U.S. agricultural products,” said the letter.
If approved, Taylor will be the Department’s chief liaison to other US agencies and foreign governments on these and other global food supply challenges.
“Taylor would be arriving from a state whose economy is heavily dependent on foreign trade, and is steeped in the political tensions that have made foreign trade deals a political liability in recent years,” POLITICO reported in May.
