Government Affairs Insights on Floral

August 21, 2026

USTR signals potential future reciprocal trade deal with Colombia

On August 20, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer announced in a post on X that the U.S. and Colombia are discussing a potential reciprocal trade agreement following a productive meeting with Colombia’s Minister of Trade, Mauricio Gómez Amín. In the post, Greer further affirms that his office is, “committed to strengthening our economic and trade ties, including through the expeditious negotiation of an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade.” From a floral lens, Colombia is the leading supplier of imported cut flowers to the United States, accounting for roughly 60% to 70% of all cut flower imports. More details are expected in the coming weeks and months, though no official timeline for the proposed reciprocal trade agreement has been announced at this time.

New 50% tariff on Canadian goods takes effect after failed U.S.-Canada trade talks

As of 12:01 a.m. ET on August 22, a 50% tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods took effect after the U.S. and Canada failed to finalize a trade agreement following a week of intense negotiations. President Trump first announced the proposed tariffs on July 20, invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the President to impose duties of up to 50% on imports from a foreign country to offset disadvantages or discrimination affecting U.S. commerce. On August 18, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he would delay the proposed 50% tariff on Canadian goods by three days, moving the effective date from August 19 to August 22 to allow more time for U.S.-Canada trade negotiations. Unlike Section 301 duties, Section 338 does not provide broad exemptions for USMCA-compliant goods, meaning floriculture products could be subject to the tariff if enacted. Notably, Canada is the third-largest source of U.S. floral imports, behind Colombia and Ecuador. Unfortunately, the two countries failed to reach an agreement before the deadline, allowing the duties to take effect over the weekend. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded in a post on X, stating that Canada would retaliate accordingly. Additional details and developments can be expected in the coming days and weeks.

Senate Ag fails to advance farm bill out of Committee

On Thursday, August 6, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a full Committee markup of the Agricultural Act of 2026 ahead of leaving town for the August recess. On Friday, July 31, Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) initially noticed the markup and released revised text updating the majority’s initial early June draft, adding a one-year delay of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) state cost-sharing requirement and language authorizing year-round, voluntary E15 sales. Floral industry priorities included in the initial draft remained intact, including funding for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), the Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program, and a framework for future specialty crop ad hoc assistance that would include floriculture. Following the release of updated text, over 200 amendments were submitted by members of the Committee, and of that, 35 were passed in a manager’s amendment that was adopted by a voice vote during the markup.

While members of both parties acknowledged the domestic agriculture industry is facing serious economic challenges and broadly agreed on the need to provide producers with greater certainty through a new five-year farm bill, disagreements over SNAP state cost-sharing requirements ultimately prevented the Committee from reaching a bipartisan consensus. After approximately three hours of debate, the Committee voted along party lines and failed to report the bill as amended out of Committee. Notably, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) were not present during the final vote. Instead of closing out the markup by adjourning, the Committee recessed indefinitely, and members are expected to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair. The Senate is now out of session for the next several weeks and the Committee will likely revisit the bill after members return from recess on September 14. You can watch a recording of the markup here.

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