For American agricultural producers, free trade tops the agenda in all directions with the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) to the east, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) to the west, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the north and south. NAFTA is now 19 years old, and has created the world’s largest free trade block while TPP and T-TIP are still works in progress.

Free trade expands economic opportunity, increases growth, and benefits consumers. While the principles of free trade are not yet universally accepted, aggressive efforts continue to make it more the norm.

Current free trade negotiations were a major focus of the U.S. Grains Council’s 53rd Annual Board of Delegates meeting in Ottawa, Canada. Simon Tucker, New Zealand’s ambassador to Canada, joined senior Canadian trade negotiators, Denis Landerville, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s chief agriculture negotiator and director general, Frederic Seppey, in sharing their countries’ goals. Craig Thorn of DTB Associates, and the Council’s Director of Trade Policy provided the U.S. perspective.

While there are secondary issues to be negotiated among the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand, they all share a fundamental commitment to liberalized trade in agricultural products. All three nations are major exporters; committed to modern agriculture; recognize that free trade improves lives; advocate science based, transparent, and fair regulatory standards; and all understand the fundamental tension in current trade policy negotiations.

There is no guarantee that the ambitious goals of TPP and T-TIP will be realized but Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S. are clearly allies in building a more prosperous future for both producers and consumers around the world.