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NPPC infuriated EU won’t include ag in trade negotiations

The National Pork Producers Council is infuriated the European Union is refusing to include agriculture in trade negotiations with the U.S.

NPPC vice president of global government affairs Nick Giordano says it’s unacceptable the European Commission recently issued draft negotiating mandates that don’t include ag.

He tells Brownfield the EU must account for tariff and non-tariff barriers that have created raw deals for U.S. farmers, ranchers and food companies.

“We ship more pork to Honduras than we do to the entire European Union, and that’s because of this myriad of barriers we face.”

Despite the EU attempting to move trade talks forward without agriculture, Giordano says the Trump Administration has made it clear ag has to be included.

“The aggressiveness of this Administration in their dealings with China, with our North American neighbors, I think we need to see and will see equal aggressiveness (and) equal vigor displayed by this Administration in dealing with the EU.”

NPPC says because of EU trade barriers, the U.S. trade deficit in food and agricultural goods has ballooned nearly $10 billion since 2000.

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