US farm chief says reliance on China threatens American ‘freedom’

US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told lawmakers on Thursday that American dependence on China for food, fertiliser and other agricultural inputs poses an “existential” threat, framing food security as a national security issue while defending the White House’s reduced fiscal 2027 budget request.

“If we need to rely on China for our food and our fertiliser and all the things that come with that, we will lose what we understand to be liberty and freedom in this country. That’s how important this is,” she said while testifying before the House Committee on Agriculture.

“This is an existential issue to preserving our country for the next 250 years.”

For 2027, the Trump administration is seeking US$20.8 billion in discretionary budget authority for the US Agriculture Department, a decrease of US$4.9 billion from 2026.

Rollins’ comments come as American farmers face mounting pressure from several fronts. Tariffs, a signature policy of US President Donald Trump’s second term, have hampered trade with China, a crucial export market for US crops.

And the war with Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have raised fuel and fertiliser costs.