January 24, 2017
President Donald Trump officially begins the process of pulling the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and it could have a big impact on the agricultural economy.
The president’s move fulfills his campaign promise to end U.S. participation in the proposed trade deal. The TPP was aimed at eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers among the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, and more than a half-dozen other countries across southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The TPP isn’t the only trade deal on President Trump’s radar. He’s also expected to sign another executive order signaling his intention to renegotiate NAFTA -- the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Many Ag groups are expressing concern about these trade deals.
“American cattle producers are already losing out on $400,000 in sales every day because we don’t have TPP,” says Tracy Brunner, President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “Since NAFTA was implemented, exports of American-produced beef to Mexico have grown by more than 750%. We’re especially concerned that the administration is taking these actions without any meaningful alternatives in place that would compensate for the tremendous loss that cattle producers will face without TPP or NAFTA.”
And the nation’s soybean farmers are also expressing their concerns.
“Moving forward, we expect to see a plan in place as soon as possible to engage the TPP partner nations and capture the value that we lose with the withdrawal today,” says American Soybean Association president Ron Moore. “With net farm income down by over 40% from levels just a few years ago, we need trade deals with the Asia-Pacific countries to make up for the $4.4 billion in annual net farm income being lost by farmers from not moving forward with the TPP.”