The National Pork Producers Council is urging the U.S. government to ratify pending free trade agreements that have been negotiated with Panama, Columbia and South Korea.
The United States. currently exports about 22 percent of its annual pork production.
National Pork Producers Council past president Don Butler told those on hand yesterday for World Pork Expo in Des Moines exports add about 38 dollars to the value of every pig sold in the U.S. and approval of pending free trade agreements will add additional value to American hogs.
Free trade agreements are critical to the growth in export opportunities for U.S. pork producers.
There are three pending free trade agreements sitting on the shelf in Washington waiting congressional ratification.
The trade agreements have been fully negotiated between the U.S. and Panama, Columbia and South Korea.
Those three free trade agreements, when fully implemented, would result in an added approximately 12 dollars per head to the vale of every pig that’s produced in the United States so it’s a huge opportunity for us.
While these three free trade agreements sit on the shelf in Washington our international competitors are moving ahead to negotiate their own free trade agreements with the same countries.
The European Union for example has recently negotiated a free trade agreement with South Korea that may be implemented soon and Canada has negotiated free trade agreements with some of these countries and so while our elected officials sit on their hands on this issue in Washington our international competitors are moving ahead.
Butler fears failure to ratify those agreements will take the U.S. out of these markets within 10 years hurting pork producers and processors and costing American jobs.
Source: Farmscape.Ca
