News

Free Trade Agreements benefit ag industry

ISAKarsting

While global demand for agricultural goods is growing, so is competition among suppliers.  USDA Foreign Agricultural Services Administrator Philip Karsting was in Indiana this week to talk with members of Indiana’s agricultural community about the significance of Free Trade Agreements to America’s farmers, the agriculture industry, and its international trading partners.  “They want an environment where trade is predictable and tariffs are lower,” he says.  “Where we can meet needs that we know are going to be growing.  By 2050 we’re going to have 5 billion people on this planet.  We have growing middle classes in Asia and Africa.  Their diets are going to be changing and our producers are well position to meet those needs if we create a trade environment where they can excel.”

The US is currently negotiating two free trade agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Karsting says he’s hoping TPP is completed soon.  “The negotiations drive the deadlines, not the other way around,” he says.  “But we feel confident where we are right now that we have the makings of a good agreement and particularly where agriculture is concerned, we’ll be better off with it than without it.”

According to USDA, in countries where the US has free trade agreements, exports of US food and agricultural goods have grown significantly.  For example exports of soybeans, soybean meal, and soy oil to Korea, Colombia, and Panama increased from $593 million in 2011 to nearly $961 million in 2014.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!