The National Pork Producers Council is urging the U.S. Congress to ratify pending U.S. free trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia and Panama before its August recess.
The United States has pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia and Panama awaiting final congressional approval.
Nick Giordano, the vice-president and council for international affairs with the National Pork Producers Council, told those on hand for World Pork Expo yesterday those agreements are key to U.S. pork producers.
We expect the Korea agreement alone will equal if not surpass the NAFTA in terms of potential benefits to U.S. pork producers.
Taken together Iowa State economist Dermot Hayes estimates that these three agreements will create over 10 thousand direct full time jobs in the U.S. pork industry, will result in an additional 750 million dollars worth of U.S. pork exports annually and will raise live hog prices by over 11 dollars per head and all of these numbers are over a period of ten years from the date of implementation.
They are eye-popping numbers.
We’re delighted that finally the agreements have gotten traction and we’re very hopeful that Congress will pass all three before the August recess.
Giordano notes the European Union has its own free trade agreement with South Korea which takes effect in July and Canada is moving forward with free trade agreements with Columbia and Panama.
He fears if congress fails to ratify U.S. agreements with those nations U.S. pork producers will be out of those markets within ten years.
Source: Farmscape.Ca
