Government Affairs Insights on Floral

May 26, 2026

USMCA Related Congressional Activity is Picking Up

With the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) review set to begin in July 2026, congressional activity is increasing ahead of the highly anticipated process. Most recently, the House Committee on Agriculture has announced plans to hold a hearing on June 10 to hear testimony from various agricultural sectors, including the specialty crop industry, on how the current USMCA and upcoming review process could impact their respective industries and trade relations. A finalized witness list has yet to be released but can be found on the Committee’s website here when officially noticed. On May 12, Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) and 79 other House members sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer highlighting the importance of fair-trade measures for the domestic specialty crop industry as the USMCA review approaches this summer. You can find a copy of the letter here. Additionally, you can find more general information and timelines regarding the upcoming USMCA review process here.

House of Representatives Passes Farm Bill

On April 29, the House of Representatives began to consider H.R. 7567 – Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 on the House floor after a contentious journey through the House Rules Committee process. On April 30, the House completed action on amendments and passed the farm bill by a vote of 224-200. Fourteen Democrat members and one Independent voted in favor of the bill including: Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Sharice Davids (D-KS), Don Davis (D-NC), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Adam Gray (D-CA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Kristin McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Josh Riley (D-NY), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), and Kevin Kiley (I-CA). Three Republicans joined the rest of the Democrats in voting against the bill including: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), and Harriet Hageman (R-WY). There were six members recorded as not voting including: Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Thomas Kean (R-NJ), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Jason Smith (R-MO), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).

Adopted amendments of note include Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) Amendment 28 which removed the proposed provisions on pesticide-labeling uniformity, state authority, and protections for the lawful use of federally authorized pesticides. It passed with a vote of 280-142, garnering considerable support from both sides of the aisle. Additionally, Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) offered Amendment 8 which allowed hot rotisserie chicken to be added as an eligible item to be purchased by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits which passed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 384-35.

Looking towards the Senate, Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) said he intends to release draft text in early June with a markup to follow later in the month after a closed-door, bipartisan meeting with Committee members on May 20. The Chairman acknowledged the Committee’s concerns related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) provision that requires states to pay a percentage of the costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) depending on the state’s payment error rate. After the meeting, Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was quoted by the Hagstrom Report stating the meeting was constructive and, “members on both sides of the aisle raised their priorities for a bipartisan farm bill, including addressing the SNAP cost shift.” As the Senate heads into the Memorial Day recess, more details and information regarding the majority’s anticipated drop of farm bill text can be expected in the coming weeks.

Update on CBP IEEPA Tariffs Refund Portal

Last month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initially launched a portal to process refund requests for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a result of the overturned U.S. Supreme Court case, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. As of the end of May, refunds are officially moving through CBP’s Consolidated Administration and Processing Entries (CAPE) system. In in order to request a refund, the CBP is requiring the following actions: Importers of Record and authorized Customs brokers have an established ACE Secure Data Portal account (ACE Portal account); recipients use the ACE Portal account to provide CBP with bank account information; and Importers of Record and authorized Customs brokers submit CAPE Declarations in the ACE Portal. Approved importers and authorized brokers should anticipate valid IEEPA refunds to be generally issued within 60 - 90 days following acceptance of the CAPE Declaration, unless a compliance concern requires further CBP review. With the launch of CAPE, CBP has warned of potential scammers use of social media, email, and other communication methods to secure account information from importers in order to interfere with the process of refunding IEEPA. As refunds continue to process, the Administration still has until June 7, 2026, to appeal to the U.S. International Trade Court (ITC) on tariff refund management. Interested stakeholder can apply for refunds using CBP’s CAPE portal here as well as more general information regarding importer refund eligibility here.

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