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A more cautious approach to trade

It’s likely the US will see a different approach to trade under a Biden Administration. Mary Kay Thatcher, senior manager, federal government and industry relations, with Syngenta says she anticipates a more cautious approach for the first year.

And, she says, “I think there is a real hope we get back to those multi-later agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We’ve got to fix the darned WTO, this idea of having it be dysfunctional is awful for us.”

She tells Brownfield a return to more multilateral trade agreements would be beneficial to the ag economy and to trade.  “On average (trade agreements) can take up to 4 years from start to finish,” she says.  “We have limited people, especially at USTR, but also at the USDA’s Foreign Ag Service to really focus on that.  So if we continue to do one country and one country and one country, we are just going to have trouble keeping up with all the agreements that are passed elsewhere around the world.”

Thatcher says the US lags behind several of its competitors in the number of regional trade agreements, putting US goods at a competitive disadvantage on the global market. 

AUDIO: Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta