Higgins, Crawford Lead Call for U.S.-Iraq Rice Tender

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR) led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller, urging him to work with Iraq’s Minister of Trade to announce and execute a U.S.-specific rice tender under the terms of the U.S.-Iraq Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Since the first MOU was signed in 2016, the U.S. has shipped 390,000 tons of American rice to Iraq.

“The domestic availability of rice throughout Iraq has been strained because of a lack of oil revenues, but the government has provided a supplementary budget to aid in rice procurement,” the lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to work with Iraq’s Minister of Trade to swiftly announce and execute a U.S.-specific tender under the terms of the MOU. This would provide an opportunity to provide a high-quality and nutritious U.S. grown agricultural product and spur much-needed local economic activity that has suffered since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Jason Smith (R-MO), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Garret Graves (R-LA), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Brian Babin (R-TX), Michael Guest (R-MS), Randy Weber (R-TX), Steven Palazzo (R-MS), Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Troy Nehls (R-TX) also signed the letter.

Read the letter here.