Ministers from the 12 countries including the United States that have agreed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact signed it this week at a ceremony in New Zealand, formally marking the beginning of a ratification process that is looking increasingly tenuous in the United States.
In general, member countries have two years to consider the deal before it is entered into force. Of course the more quickly the agreement goes fully into effect, the more benefits U.S. farmers will see from it.
Still, the timeframe for U.S. consideration got even murkier this week, with several influential Members of Congress expressing concern that the agreement won’t be considered before the post-election lame duck period or maybe even until next year.
President Barack Obama met with leaders of the House and Senate on the matter this week with no solid outcome beyond plans for more discussion. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said this week that the deal could take “years� to approve, while Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) offered support for the measure but skepticism that a vote will happen this year.
Farm groups including the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) called for the agreement to be considered in 2016, and other countries that are party to the deal including Japan plan to take it up in the near term.
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) will be working with sister organizations and within the agriculture industry over the coming months to demonstrate the value of TPP as well as the benefits of strong and coordinated trade policy and market development efforts.
“The Council applauds this step forward by the TPP ministers,� said USGC President and CEO Tom Sleight. “The agreement is critical to maintaining U.S. agriculture’s profitability for many reasons: it eliminates tariffs, addresses critical non-tariff barriers and is a platform onto which other countries can also join.
“While there is still much work to do, there is also significant potential for this agreement to spur additional sales of grains in all forms and to help our products be competitive in more places around the world.�
The TPP agreement is the first such trade deal that addresses the issue of biotech crops. It is also explicitly designed to allow other countries from both Asia and the Americas to participate after it is ratified and entered into force by the original 12 member countries; countries including Colombia, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines have already signaled interest.
More information about TPP is available from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Trade Benefits America Coalition.