Earlier this month, I attended a U.S. Dairy Export Council meeting.
USDEC is a nonprofit membership organization funded in part through Dairy Checkoff to represent U.S. dairy trade interests across the globe. They have membership from cooperatives, processors and exporters across the dairy supply chain.
State associations and other organizations like the Center for Dairy Excellence can be associate members to stay informed about U.S. dairy sales globally. I enjoy attending USDEC meetings because I walk away with a much more informed perspective on the world economy and how complex the entire landscape around global markets and trade is.
This year was particularly interesting, though, because it took place less than a week after President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on goods, including some dairy products, from many countries across the world. As the meeting was happening, other countries were having real-time conversations about how they were going to respond to the U.S. tariffs. Each country was determining how best to move forward in their relationship with the U.S. — whether they were going to simply retaliate by increasing their own tariffs on U.S. product or if they were going to negotiate to find a better solution for both countries.
One interesting point someone made during the meeting is that total ag exports have been holding steady in the past few years, while imports of ag goods coming into the country have been growing. As a result, the U.S. has been in an agricultural trade deficit in four of the past six years, with 2019 marking the first deficit since at least 1967.
In 2024, that deficit grew to $37 billion, the highest on record. In 2025, some projections have that deficit reaching $49 billion. While you can debate what the best approach would be to grow global markets for agricultural goods, you cannot debate how important it is to shift the trend back to having a trade surplus to support our entire U.S. ag economy.
What I appreciated most at the USDEC meeting was the way they brought different and debating perspectives and viewpoints to the discussion on the current trade situation and how it is playing out. While concerns were expressed about the impact the tariffs could have on U.S. market access, businesses and the broader economy, everyone in the room seemed to agree that this is an opportunity to reset relationships with our trade partners across the globe. The debate is how best to reset those relationships.
Obviously, the global marketplace is very complex, and I can’t begin to offer any perspective on the best way to reset those relationships. However, I do think resetting any relationship — whether it’s between two people, two businesses or two countries — can be like hitting the reset button on a piece of technology.
Have you ever had your phone or another piece of equipment fail to work and the troubleshooting guide says to do a hard reset? Often, after you do that, the machine slowly reboots, and everything begins to work again.
Recently, a consultant we work with told me the best way to address a conflict is to run toward it. If we want to work on rebuilding a relationship, that starts with acknowledging there was a breakdown in the relationship in the first place. Avoiding what happened only leads to frustration and distrust in the relationship. Any relationship — and any breakdown — takes two. If you approach the situation with honesty and openness, acknowledging your role in the breakdown and having empathy for the other person’s perspective, you can shift the conversation from placing blame to finding solutions.
Relationships — whether they are between trade partners, business partners or life partners — are not always easy. Even in the best situations, there are breakdowns and missteps that create barriers to ensuring that relationship remains strong. Resetting those relationships can be even harder.
Since the tariffs were announced, there have already been more than 50 countries coming to the table wanting to negotiate. While it’s hard to know how long those negotiations will take or what the fallout will be in the meantime, it does show that other countries recognize the value in resetting their relationship with the U.S.
Jayne Sebright is the executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence.
