Government Affairs Insights on Floral

October 26, 2026

USDA announces $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program

On October 19, President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intent to make available $8 billion in one-time payments for American farmers to help offset temporary market disruptions and rising input costs. These payments will be provided through the Harvest Fuel Relief (HFR) program and authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and administered by the Farm Service Agency. Like that of the recent Farmer Bridge Assistance program, HFR will provide supplemental support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year. This national loss average will be based on FSA reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production estimates, and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices. Crop insurance linkage will not be required for participation. Commodity-specific rates for Title I commodities will be released in November, although applications for assistance will not be available until January. Payment rates for other eligible commodities will be announced at a later date. Non-Title I commodities, including specialty crop growers and fishermen, are encouraged to provide data related to fuel costs to HarvestFuel@usda.gov for USDA’s consideration when determining payment rates. At this time only on-farm fuel will be considered for the applications, excluding general transportation fuel costs. More information is expected to be released in the coming weeks. You can refer to the official press release here.

U.S. Court of International Trade holds hearing regarding Section 301 forced-labor tariffs

On September 30, a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade (CIT) heard oral arguments in Burlap and Barrel, Inc. et al. v. Greer, a pivotal challenge to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) recent section 301 tariffs. Filed by the Liberty Justice Center in July 2026, the lawsuit alleges that USTR exceeded its authority under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 by imposing broad duties of 10% to 12.5% across 60 economies. These economies collectively account for approximately 99.4% of all U.S. imports. The Administration’s stated rationale for the sweeping action was that these nations failed to enforce prohibitions on goods produced with forced labor.

During the hearing, the plaintiffs argued that USTR acted arbitrarily and capriciously by treating the many economies as a monolith, failing to conduct country-specific, targeted analysis required by the statute. In response, the U.S. Department of Justice defended the agency by arguing that the broad statutory language of Section 301 provides sufficient discretion to combat systemic unfair trade practices without requiring country-specific analysis. From a floral lens, Ecuador and Colombia were both subject to 10% and 12.5% tariffs respectively under Section 301, although floral imports from Ecuador are currently exempt.

The CIT panel is expected to issue a written opinion in the coming weeks. Regardless of the outcome, ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Trump nominates Greg Ibach to serve as next USDA Under Secretary for TFAA

On Tuesday, September 28, President Trump nominated Greg Ibach to serve as the next U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (TFAA). If confirmed, he will succeed former Under Secretary Luke Linberg, who recently became Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome, Italy. The TFAA Mission Area oversees the Foreign Agricultural Service and U.S. Codex Office. Under the first Trump Administration, Ibach served as the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA. Previously, Ibach served as Nebraska’s Director of Agriculture for 12 years. Ibach is awaiting the Senate Committee of Agriculture to schedule a nomination hearing in order to proceed with final Senate confirmation. Given the limited number of Senate session days after the midterms and during the lame-duck period, it is unclear whether he will be confirmed before the end of this Congress. You can find the official press release here.

Government Affairs Insights on Floral

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