Ag groups urge Senate Finance Committee to act FTAs for Korea, Colombia, and Panama
Feedstuffs, USA
Ag groups urge Senate Finance Committee to act FTAs for Korea, Colombia, and Panama
8 March 2011
In advance of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 9, with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the American Soybean Assn. (ASA), along with other representatives of the U.S. food and agriculture industry, reiterated support for swift passage of the pending U.S. trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama.
“These three trade agreements combined represent almost $3 billion dollars of additional agriculture exports to these trading partners,” said ASA first vice president Steve Wellman, a soybean producer from Syracuse, Neb. “These gains can only be realized by implementation of these three agreements.”
The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement provides a significant opportunity for the U.S. agriculture sector. According to economic forecasts completed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, when the agreement is fully implemented, increased exports of the major grain, oilseed, fiber, fruit and vegetable and livestock products are likely to exceed $1.8 billion annually. The Korea agreement will allow the United States to become a competitive supplier of agricultural products to South Korea by providing duty-free and reduced tariff access. Eliminating these tariff rates through the trade agreement would be extremely beneficial to the United States agricultural sector, according to a statement today from ASA.
