How Seed Trade Officials Are Navigating 2025

The constantly changing tariffs from the Trump administration are directly impacting the global seed community. How are seed officials grappling with this unpredictable regulatory environment as well as other key challenges in 2025? In this episode, we will learn about two of the seed sector’s biggest current obstacles: trade and illegal seed practices. First, host Laura Rosbrow-Telem gets a fuller picture about seed trade this year from Doaa Abdel Motaal, the senior counselor for the Agriculture and Commodities Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Samuel Crowell, the senior director of international programs and policy at the American Seed Trade Association. We then hear about illegal seed practices, including counterfeit seeds. According to a recent WTO report, more than 50 percent of seeds on the market in certain regions are counterfeit or illegal. We learn why counterfeit seeds are so prevalent and the best ways to curb illegal seed practices, including lessons from China. Yang Yasheng of the China Seed Association shares how China significantly reduced the amount of counterfeit seeds in recent years. State of Seed is a show from the International Seed Federation, with production services by FP Studios.