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Farm groups want fair trade with Japan

Farm groups are calling on the Trump administration to open the door to trade with Japan as negotiations are expected to start on the 15^th.

Maria Zieba with the National Pork Producers Council tells Brownfield Japan is the largest export market for U.S. pork but producers are starting to lose market share to other countries with better trade deals. “Unfortunately, we’re facing some strong headwinds in the Japanese market because we do not have a free trade agreement with the Japanese and our biggest competitors do.”   

A recent report from Iowa State University says U.S. pork exports could increase by at least $600 million over the next 15 years if the U.S. is part of a competitive trade deal but could drop by more than $1.2 billion annually if terms are not quickly reached.

Alan Bjerga with the National Milk Producers Federation says it’s important to watch who Japan is making agreements with like Canada and the European Union.“Those are dollars that are going into Canadian or European pockets rather than those of an American dairy farmer.”   

A recent study by the U.S. Dairy Export Council finds the U.S. could lose $5.4 billion of lost dairy sales to Japan over the next 21 years if left out of a trade deal with country’s fourth-largest export destination.