The chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Darci Vetter, is urging Congress to act sooner rather than later on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.
Vetter says the longer Congress waits, the greater the potential loss for U.S. agriculture.
“Case in point—as we’ve been negotiating the TPP, other TPP countries are out negotiating deals with each other and other countries. Japan and Australia recently implemented their own bilateral free trade agreement and now Australians enjoy a ten percent tariff advantage on U.S. beef going into Japan,” Vetter says. “The day that the TPP is implemented, we’ll be back on a level playing field with Australian beef into our number one beef market.”
Vetter indicates that, in addition to the countries involved in TPP, several other countries have already expressed interest in joining the agreement once it is approved.
Supporters of TPP are concerned that election-year politics may delay Congressional action on TPP until after the November election.
Vetter made her comments Tuesday prior to her appearance at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln event.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com