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Causes and Consequences of U.S. Agricultural Trade Deficit

2025 AAEA annual meeting track session

The 2025 AAEA Annual Meeting Track Session sponsored by the Agricultural Trade and Policy Section (ATP), “Causes and Consequences of U.S. Agricultural Trade Deficit” will discuss how the US agri-food sector has experienced a rapidly declining trade balance, with 2019 being the first year in many decades the sector had a trade deficit. U.S. agri-food imports are increasing faster than exports, causing trade balance to go from a $14.8 billion surplus in 2016 to a $1.17 billion deficit in 2019 and again to a $2.39 billion deficit in 2022. The deficit quickly rose to $16.7 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach an unprecedented $32.5 billion by 2024, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The surging deficit and persistent trend have become a pressing concern among policymakers and industry stakeholders. The three presentations address the causes and consequences of this trade deficit.

  • Decoding the Fundamental Shift in U.S. Agricultural TradeYi Li, University of Florida
  • Trade Policies and U.S. Agricultural Trade DeficitWilliam Ridley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • The Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions on U.S. Agri-food Trade DeficitStephen Devadoss, Texas Tech University

This session will take place on July 29 from 10:00 am – 11:30 am in the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in the Governors Square 10 room.

If you are interested in attending the 2025 AAEA Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, please send a completed complimentary media registration to Allison Ware in the AAEA Business Office. You can also learn more on our Annual Meeting Media Kit page or view the entire AAEA programmed schedule.

ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes three journals, the Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (an open access journal), the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit www.aaea.org.

Contact: Allison Ware
Senior Communications & Membership Manager 
(414) 918-3190
Email: aware@aaea.org