Agricultural Groups Continue Offensive for Trade Barrier Removal Through TPA
The Trans-Pacific Partnership could be the benchmark for global trade rules in the future, as the World Trade Organization Doha agenda still teeters on the verge of collapse, said National Pork Producers Council President Howard Hill to the House Agriculture Committee on March 18 (here). Trade Promotion Authority is essential to locking down the best deal possible, said Hill, along with other agriculture producers, in testimony.
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Some industry observers say TPP negotiators could close a deal within weeks, following the chief negotiator round of talks from March 9-15 in Hawaii. Lawmakers, however, haven’t yet floated TPA legislation in either chamber of Congress. Hill said TPA passage should give the Obama administration “the final push they need to close the negotiations.”
There are “indications” TPP will reduce Japanese beef duties and reform a pork price management system in that country, said President of the American Farm Bureau Federation Bob Stallman (here). The deal could also slash dairy duties and give U.S. companies access to more tariff-rate quotas for rice. Agriculture producers and lawmakers have long-called on TPP negotiators to remove trade barriers for U.S. exports to Japan and Canada. House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., recently urged both countries to put forth more concessions or leave the talks (see 1502050019).
Meanwhile, non-tariff barriers, such as that Japanese price system for pork, are emerging as the most critical obstacle for U.S. agricultural exports, said Robert Guenther, senior vice president at the United Fresh Produce Association . “As tariff levels have been brought down, there has been a corresponding increase in non-tariff barriers,” said Guenther (here). “Examples of non-tariff barriers include, but are not limited to, restrictive import and administrative procedures or product or processing specifications. Exports of commodities such as apples, pears, peaches, citrus and potatoes to countries including Korea and Mexico have been limited due to non-tariff barriers, among other examples.” South Korea and Mexico are both U.S. free trade agreement partners.