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NFU glad Trump opposes TPP as-is

The National Farmers Union hopes a Trump administration will make a better Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.

NFU President Roger Johnson says they oppose the current TPP and look at trade from a big-picture perspective.  Johnson tells Brownfield, “It’s true that agriculture has a trade surplus.  That’s a good thing, but the fact of the matter is the country as a whole has an enormous trade deficit.  That’s not a good thing.”

Johnson says that trade deficit is over half a trillion dollars, which impacts America’s overall economic health.  He says, “It’s three to five million jobs that are gone in this country that are somewhere else producing the stuff that we’re buying.  It’s a three percent drag on our GDP, and I think Mr. Trump was right to say we can do a better job of negotiating trade agreements.”

He says when NFU recently surveyed Wisconsin dairy farmers, 80% didn’t like TPP, and most felt it was a bad deal.  Johnson tells Brownfield, “The dairy farmers are feeling the same thing about the leadership in their industry that’s sort of saying, yeah, we’re for TPP.  We’ve got what? A one-and-a-half percent increase to access north of the border or something like that? I mean (it’s) Miniscule.”

Johnson says the Farmers Union is not against trade but agrees with the President-Elect that better deals can be made.

 

NFU sent a congratulatory letter to Trump, urging his administration to address several issues important to agriculture, seen below.

November 10, 2016

President-elect Trump:

I write on behalf of National Farmers Union’s (NFU) nearly 200,000 members nationwide who are engaged in all forms of farming and ranching. We wish to congratulate you on your recent election to the Office of the President of the United States.

NFU, founded in 1902 in Point, Texas, represents family farmers and ranchers across the country, with formally organized divisions in 33 states. The key to the success and credibility of the organization has been Farmers Union’s grassroots structure in which policy positions are initiated locally. NFU believes that good opportunities in agriculture are the foundation of strong farm and ranch families, and strong farm and ranch families are the basis for thriving rural communities. Vibrant rural communities, in turn, are vital to the health, security and economic well-being of our entire national economy.

As you are aware, agriculture is one of the few remaining sectors that has widespread bipartisan support. While we don’t all agree on every issue, compromise, respect, and open communication is the basis of the foundation between all the diverse sectors of agriculture. With that in mind, we look forward to finding issues of mutual agreement for the betterment of America’s family farmers and rural communities.

Throughout your campaign, you spoke to the problems associated with our nation’s significant trade deficit. Our members share this concern. While we rely on world markets as an outlet for our products, we remain concerned that unfair trade tactics employed by other countries and existing trade deals that put our country at a disadvantage are harming the overall rural economy. Trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), threaten the viability of the U.S. economy. We hope to work with your administration on fair trade deals that address our current trade deficit and level the playing field.

NFU also appreciates the attention that you devoted to common-sense regulatory reform. Our members are not opposed to regulation and recognize the need for clean air and water and stand ready to assist in that endeavor. At the same time, the current regulatory framework has been particularly burdensome. A middle ground is needed and we look forward to assisting in finding that common ground.

Lastly, we appreciate the strong support you voiced for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a robust Farm Bill, and concern over relentless corporate mergers. The RFS provides an important outlet for our producers’ crops, well-paying jobs for rural communities and environmental benefits for all Americans. The continuous rate of mergers have provided farmers fewer farm input options and driven up the cost of doing business. Likewise, the Farm Bill provides tools necessary to cope with the unpredictable nature of farming. Given the difficult farm economy we hope to work closely with your administration to quickly provide relief for struggling farmers and ranchers.

Again, congratulations on your election. We stand ready to work alongside your administration in areas that are mutually beneficial to farmers, ranchers, rural communities and the broader American public, who rely on the work our members do each day.

Sincerely,

Roger Johnson, President