product, agriculture, which accounts for 13.25 percent of gross domestic product, is a much larger source of jobs, employing around a quarter of the working population. The livestock sector accounts for more than 80 percent of agricultural production in Mongolia. (6) Since the 1940s, the annual mean air temperature in Mongolia has risen at 3 times the average global rate. Average precipitation is declining and extreme weather disasters are more frequent, posing acute challenges for livestock herding in the country. In 2017, an estimated 700,000 animals of the country’s livestock population perished due to the post-drought extreme winter phenomenon known as dzud . This phenomenon has increased in frequency and severity in recent years, causing a rise in livestock mortality and diminishing livelihoods for herders, which has led to widespread rural poverty and a contraction in the national economy. (7) Mongolia would greatly benefit from preferential treatment for imports into the United States of certain Mongolian products. Such preferential treatment would help address some of the economic impacts of the dzuds. (8) The cashmere trade is particularly important to the economy of Mongolia. While Mongolia produces approximately 40 percent of the world’s raw cashmere, it produces few finished cashmere products. Mongolian raw cashmere is exported to the People’s Republic of China, where it is diluted with other fibers and labeled as Mongolian. The United States buys nearly all of its cashmere products from the People’s Republic of China. Preferential treatment for imports into the United States of certain Mongolian products, including cashmere products, would benefit the United States by facilitating increased direct trade with Mongolia for cashmere products while also supporting the development of value-added cashmere processing in Mongolia. (9) The development of the garment industry in Mongolia would also promote women’s employment and empowerment. Women have historically participated in the garment industry in