The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has released its findings about how the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will tear down trade barriers and help level the playing field for U.S. agricultural exports to 11 nations across the Pacific Rim. Ratifying TPP will boost annual net farm income in the United States by $4.4 billion, compared to not approving the pact, according to the AFBF.
In Montana, the TPP agreement is expected to increase cash receipts and net exports by $86.9 million and $56.6 million per year respectively. It is estimated that the increased marketing opportunities for Montana’s farmers and ranchers will add more than 425 jobs to the Montana economy. “Eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers on Montana’s agricultural exports to TPP-partner countries will increase trade for a range of Montana agricultural products, including beef and processed food products,” noted MFBF President Bob Hanson. “Access to new and emerging markets like those in the TPP is critical to growing our state’s farm economy and creating new opportunities for Montana farm families.”
Export sales make an important contribution to Montana’s farm economy, which had total cash receipts of $4.6 billion in 2014. “TPP will mean a boat-load of expanded exports and increased demand for America’s agricultural products,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “Clearly, America’s farmers and ranchers have much to gain from approval of TPP and we support its ratification. American agriculture is a growth industry, and to continue that trend, we must expand our market opportunities.”
Not approving the trade deal would have adverse effects, too. “While our farmers and ranchers have a lot to gain with passage, the consequences of not approving the deal would be harmful,” Duvall said. “Every day we delay means lost markets as other TPP countries implement the deal’s advantages with each other. We are already arriving at the party late because, right now, expanded trade due to TPP is going on across the Pacific Rim – just without us.”
Negotiators from the 12 TPP nations have approved the agreement. The U.S. International Trade Commission is preparing an official analysis for the administration, which will formally ask Congress to ratify the deal.
The full analysis is posted at: http://www.fb.org/issues/tpp/pdf/TPP Full Report.pdf. The Montana fact sheets are available at http://mfbf.org/montana-tpp/.
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