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NCBA says TPP benefits beyond Japan

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not only help the U.S. beef industry with its largest export market, Japan, but will encourage other countries to come on board with the 12-nation agreement.

“The additional countries who may come on in a few years which are also growing economies in the Pacific Rim. Countries like Taiwan and the Philippines and Korea and possibly Indonesia. You look at all these consumer bases and that’s a lot of opportunity for U.S. beef producers” says NCBA’s Kent Bacus. He tells Brownfield Ag News it’s better for the U.S. than for China to be setting terms of trade with other countries. He points out that the U.S. beef industry doesn’t have government supports or protections,“We are very open and we’re very competitive and that means that we’re also vulnerable in some of these countries where we don’t have fair access. And, that’s all we’re asking for in this agreement.”

Bacus says the global community is looking for the U.S. to lead and Congress should ratify the TPP,“We can’t afford to pass this off to other countries. We’re the biggest economy in this agreement and it’s time for the U.S. to really take the lead.”

All countries involved must ratify the deal for it to go into effect. Bacus says President Obama is encouraging everyone to look at the TPP terms as they become available through the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.

AUDIO: Interview with Kent Bacus