In a bipartisan letter to House and Senate leadership Monday, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and its 26 state and regional affiliates, along with more than 200 other farm and food groups, urged lawmakers to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The groups encouraged Congress to continue its work to approve the TPP in 2016.

“If faithfully implemented, TPP will help level the playing field for U.S. exports and create new opportunities for us in the highly competitive Asia-Pacific region,” wrote the groups. “The TPP is critical to the livelihood of the U.S. food and agriculture sector because it will create conditions that encourage economic growth and increased employment in rural areas and throughout the supply chain.”

ASA is a leader on trade issues, as soybeans are the nation’s top agricultural export. Soybeans also see significant benefits from international trade in the form of increases in exported meats—particularly pork and chicken—from livestock that requires soybean meal as feed.

“Exports are fundamental to the success of the agricultural industry because 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside of the United States and 20 percent of U.S. farm income is from exports,” said the groups in the letter. “According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, TPP will boost annual net farm income in the United States by $4.4 billion.”

ASA represents soybean farmers nationwide, and has state affiliates in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as regional affiliates representing the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia/Florida.

For a copy of the letter, please click here.