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Dec 12, 2013
In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Mike Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week, ASA and a coalition of more than 40 farm organizations reemphasized the core aspects of a successful Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement as both Canada and Japan move to enter TPP negotiations in coming months. In July, a large majority of the groups wrote to Ambassador Froman and Secretary Vilsack to outline what they called the “Core Principles for a Successful TPP Agreement.”
“We are writing to you again because even at this late hour Japan and Canada have yet to convey their acceptance of key TPP market access objectives. In 2011, the leaders of the TPP nations agreed they would “serve to define this historic agreement and set a new standard for trade agreements in the future.” Those objectives include comprehensiveness and the elimination of tariffs and other non-tariff barriers to trade,” wrote the groups. “We urge you to insist that Japan and Canada fully adopt these objectives and undertake concessions commensurate with their status as two of the world’s largest economies and with the enormous economic gains they can expect to achieve as a result of this agreement.”
For the full letter, please click here.
