Pressure on Mexico to Allow Colorado Spuds
Gov. John Hickenlooper joined a handful of elected officials in calling onU.S. officials to pressure Mexico to increase market access for American fresh potatoes. Hickenlooper sent letters to President Barack Obama and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, asking that the issue of Mexico’s inclusion in the Trans Pacific Partnership be a focus in July discussions. Currently, despite a 2003...
Read MoreCanada Joins TPP Talks
Canada is now a negotiating partner in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. As a major U.S. trading partner, Canada will bolster the reach of the TPP negotiations for U.S. agriculture. As the second-largest U.S. agricultural export market, with more than $18 billion in sales in 2011, Canada is crucial to U.S. agriculture. “Both our nations will benefit from Canada being a TPP partner, and...
Read MoreMexico Joins TPP Talks
Mexico on Monday accepted an invitation to join Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S. in pursuit of a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. For Farm Bureau, the biggest trade-related issue in the Asia-Pacific region is the progress of the TPP negotiations and the potential addition of Japan, Canada and Mexico to the talks. In a statement...
Read MoreExports Forecast Raised
USDA has raised this year’s agricultural export forecast to $134.5 billion, up $3.5 billion from the February forecast, but $2.9 billion below last year’s exports. The department’s latest Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade shows agricultural imports at a record $107.5 billion; however, the trade balance for 2012 is a surplus of $27 billion. Grain exports are forecast up from February...
Read MoreFinally, Free Trade with Colombia
Better late than never, or so the saying goes, but the long wait for the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to take effect was costly to U.S. agriculture, said Dave Salmonsen, American Farm Bureau Federation trade specialist, in Monday’s Newsline. With the implementation of the trade pact, tariffs have been eliminated on more than half of the U.S. agricultural goods going into Colombia. Others...
Read MoreColombian TPA in Effect
On Tuesday this week, the U.S-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement went into effect. “Beginning today, U.S. agricultural exporters receive duty-free access on more than half of the products we currently export to Colombia and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement. Estimates show that the tariff reductions will...
Read MoreLegislative Tracking 2013
