Peanut butter producers see trade spread with TPP

U.S. producers of peanut butter foresee an increase in international trade once the United States and the other eleven countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership approve the agreement.    U.S. producers of peanut butter foresee an increase in international trade once the United States and the other eleven countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) approve the agreement.
   In addition to the United States, the TPP includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
   TPP negotiations were completed in October 2015 and the final agreement was signed early February by the member countries’ trade ministers in New Zealand.
   The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) this month released a report that forecasts U.S. exports related to TPP, if passed by Congress, will increase $57.2 billion by 2032.
   “Congressional ratification of this agreement and entry into force cannot come soon enough for the peanut sector of the U.S. economy, since we have a very large supply of exportable peanuts and our ability to produce high-quality for the export market make American peanut producers, shellers and manufacturers uniquely positioned to take advantage of the new access provided by the TPP,” American Peanut Product Manufacturers Chairman Bill Brown said in a statement.
   The trade group recently reviewed the ITC’s TPP report in which the commission reported that Japan’s over-quota duty for raw peanuts will be eliminated in eight years and its in-quota duty of 10 percent will end upon the agreement’s entry into force. In addition, Malaysia’s 5 percent tariff on raw peanuts will be eliminated upon TPP’s entry into force and Vietnam’s peanut tariffs, which are currently as high as 34 percent, will disappear in six years or less.
   “This agreement will provide new opportunities for the entire peanut industry that is always looking for new ways to grow the market for peanuts,” Brown said.
   “As we face large peanut inventories resulting from a significant production base, we look forward to working with other food and agriculture groups in getting this agreement approved by Congress as early as possible this year,” he added.