News

TTIP negotiations complex

An advisor for U.S. agriculture says Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations are very complex but potential benefits for both the U.S. and the European Union are great.

Gina Tumbarello, director of International Trade Policy for the American Feed Industry Association, says there are many differences. She tells Brownfield Ag News, “There are restrictions that the E.U. has on various U.S. ag products that are hindering our products from that market. So this trade agreement is going to – IF successful – will allow us to address that disparity and capture a greater access for our agricultural products. It’s more balanced.”

She tells Brownfield the biggest gap is how the E.U. and the U.S. address the evaluation of food safety.  For example, she says, “The U.S. is the lowest cost producer of pork in the world so you would think that the E.U. would be a large – huge – market for competitively priced, high quality pork. But, in 2012, under 5,000 metric tons of pork was exported and this has to do with the E.U.’s ban on ractopamine. It’s not based on sound science OR legitimate food safety concerns.”

Tumbarello says Trade Promotion Authority for the president, if extended, would help greatly with these negotiations and with the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement which is close to being completed.

Tumbarello, who’s speaking at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta, is on the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee for Trade in grains, feed, oil and planting seeds.

AUDIO:  Interview with Gina Tumbarello (16:00 mp3):

USDA – Foreign Ag Service – TTIP

U.S. Trade Representative’s Office – TTIP