A bipartisan group of senators last week urged U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to ensure the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) included a strong framework for agriculture, including resolution on both tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The U.S. market share is increasingly deteriorating due to tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in the EU—one of our most significant trading markets and top importer of food and agriculture products. In 2015, the U.S. had a $16 billion surplus in agricultural trade globally, yet in the EU, U.S. agricultural exports saw a record $12 billion trade deficit. T-TIP would help expand U.S. agriculture exports in the EU.

“A final agreement that does not include a strong framework for agriculture could have a negative impact on Congressional support for this deal. It is imperative that tariff elimination on all products - including beef, pork, poultry, rice, and fruits and vegetables - remain a priority,” the senators state in the letter. “The EU must be willing to work towards liberalization in all sectors of agriculture. A premature conclusion of the T-TIP negotiations threatens to undermine the negotiating position of the U.S. in resolving long­ standing regulatory barriers such as hormone use in U.S. beef, maximum residue limits in fruits and vegetables, and dairy certification requirements.”

The senators also point to the EUs failure to approve imports of new biotech products in a timely manner.

“Approvals of some products have been delayed even after positive evaluations by the European Food Safety Agency, and currently there are at least three products that have been awaiting import approval since 2011 and 2012. The inability to implement existing regulations and provide certainty based on sound science related to agriculture policies raises questions about the success of new obligations and commitments established in the T-TIP,” the letter states. (Click here to read the entire letter).

The American Soybean Association (ASA) supports negotiation of T-TIP between the EU and U.S., provided such an agreement takes into account the unique needs of soybean farmers and works to eliminate barriers to agricultural trade in Europe and establishes an aggregate approach for certifying U.S. compliance with the sustainable land use requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).