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Opinions vary on Trump order to pull out of TPP

Two of the largest general farm organizations in the country have differing views on President Trump’s decision Monday to pull the U.S. out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) says it’s critical that the Trump Administration build access for U.S. farm goods in Asia-Pacific markets.  Farm Bureau Congressional Relations Director Dave Salmonsen says Farm Bureau supported the deal and it needs to be replaced.

“We still want this administration to support U.S. agriculture and work on other ways to improve access in that area, whether that’s with a future maybe of bi-lateral agreements, potentially with Japan or some of the other partner countries,” Salmonsen told Brownfield Ag News Monday, “things that will remove tariffs, improve standards, but generally work on behalf of agriculture in the region.”

Meanwhile, the National Farmers Union (NFU) says it’s pleased to see the end of the Trans Pacific Partnership and supports President Trump’s decision to withdraw.  The NFU wants trade deals that put American farmers first, according to Barbara Patterson, the organization’s Government Relations Director.

“We’d like to see more of an emphasis placed on what impact do these trade deals have on family farmers, what impact does the import side of the equation have on domestic prices, and be more mindful of that, and try to achieve fair and balanced trade in our trade agreements,” said Patterson Monday, in an interview with Brownfield Ag News.

President Trump also says he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. Salmonsen says the amount of agriculture trade with those two countries is more than four times what it was before NAFTA went into effect more than 20 years ago.

Brownfield anchor/reporter Andrew Flinn contributed to this article.

AUDIO: Deve Salmonsen (6 min. MP3)

AUDIO: Barbara Patterson (4 min. MP3)