The American Soybean Association (ASA) and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) earlier this week sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman, providing insight and guidance on the issues and concerns of the soybean industry as they relate to the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

This letter was in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) International Agricultural Trade Report for March 2016, which highlighted the advantages of tariff reductions in the TTIP agreement, but failed to mention the need for non-tariff related barriers, which would have the greatest impact on increasing U.S. exports of bulk commodities and intermediate products, including in the soy and livestock sectors.

“ASA and USSEC have sent several letters to the Administration and testified on reforms needed in EU laws and regulations that restrict access to its market for U.S. soy and livestock products. These recommendations include making the EU’s approval process for new biotechnology products more transparent, timely, and consistent with its own regulatory timelines,” the letter states. “Currently, several important biotech applications approved by the European Food Safety Agency are being delayed. This issue must be addressed in any TTIP agreement.”

Click here to read the letter.