Because we lowered the import tariffs.
Agriculture used to be (and still should be) considered a military sensitive industry. You have to be able to feed an army. We never want to become dependent on foreign countries for the majority of our food.
This is from 2004. I imagine it is worse now.
U.S. Food Imports Now Exceed Exports
THE AGRIBUSINESS EXAMINER
November 10, 2004, Issue #379
Monitoring Corporate Agribusiness
>From a Public Interest Perspective
EDITOR\PUBLISHER; A.V. Krebs
E-MAIL: avkrebs@earthlink.net
WEB SITE: http://www.ea1.com/CARP/
TO RECEIVE: Send name and address
INCREASING IMPORTS OF FOOD CREATING TRADE PROBLEMS FOR U.S ECONOMY
SCOTT KILMAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL (11/8/04): America’s appetite for imported food is creating problems for the U.S. economy.
Agriculture, one of the few big sectors of the economy that could be counted
on to produce trade surpluses, has recently generated monthly deficits -— a
development that could worsen the nation’s already significant trade
imbalance.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. imported more
agricultural goods than it exported in June and August, the first monthly
trade deficits since 1986, when the Farm Belt was mired in a depression.
“It’s very worrisome,” said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist of banking giant
Wells Fargo & Co. “We need agricultural trade surpluses more than ever
because the nonagricultural deficit is ballooning.”
http://organicconsumers.org/corp/exports111204.cfm
I see. Is that why we are planning on importing Chinese chicken, labeled as “Made in USA”?