AFIA, ASA among groups to support proposed US trade deal

20-Nov-2015 - Last updated on 24-Nov-2015 at 12:55 GMT

Several US feed and grain organizations have come out in support of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) have recently announced support for the TPP and have called for Congress to ratify the proposal.

The agreement involves Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US. It is currently in a 60-day public review.

The overarching goal of the agreement would be to promote US economic growth and increase exports in an area with strong economies and that has almost 40% of the global GDP, said officials with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

Ratification urged

Industry groups said TPP, if passed, could lead to improved export of US agricultural products and a boost in domestic use of animal feed.

Other benefits of the process would be in addressing ‘technical barriers’ that can exist in trade and improving the sanitary and phytosanitary agreements from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and establishing scientific and transparent procedures, she told FeedNavigator.

“Failure to ratify this agreement would mean losing an opportunity for the US to lead in writing the rules for trade in the Asia-Pacific region,” she said. “Other countries, such as China, are already negotiating and finalizing deals that are not up to par with the US.’s interests and values. If this continues and TPP is not ratified, the US will be left behind and lose any competitive advantage.”

If approved, the agreement would give farmers and ranchers better access to growing economies, said Chip Bowling, NCGA president.

"Today, America exports more than $63bn in agricultural products to TPP countries, including more than $6bn in corn and corn co-products,” he said in a release. “With the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we can do even more."

Similarly, members of the ASA have said the deal would help improve the market for soybean farmers.

The TPP, if approved, will eliminate tariffs on soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal in each of the 12 TPP nations within a set timeframe, noted the ASA.

In Japan, tariffs on soybean oil will be eliminated within six years. In Vietnam, tariffs will be eliminated in 11 years per the agreement, and in Peru the TPP eliminates tariffs my 2018. Immediately, the agreement lifts tariffs for soybeans, meal and oil in New Zealand, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as on soybean meal in Japan.

“These partner nations represent many of the most promising established and emerging markets for US soy and meat,” said ASA vice president Richard Wilkins in a release. “The TPP helps grow the markets in these economies, and as they grow, their demand for American products grows as well. Most importantly for soybean farmers, their demand for meat protein grows. That drives production here in the States, which creates demand for our soybean meal as livestock feed.”