Former ag secretaries urge TPP passage

A half dozen former U.S. agriculture secretaries from both Republican and Democratic White Houses are urging Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership.    A half dozen former U.S. agriculture secretaries from both Republican and Democratic White Houses are urging Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
   TPP is a recent trade agreement reached between the United States and eleven other Pacific Rim countries.
   “TPP, a high-standard, 12-country agreement, represents this nation’s ‘rebalance toward Asia,’ which fits American agriculture perfectly. That’s where populations are increasing, as is purchasing power, and that’s what dramatically enhances the demand for our food. We will in the future benefit significantly from increased access to those markets,” they wrote in a letter to Congress Friday.
   “We have long had aspirations to sell more of our products to Japan, and we’ll now have that enhanced opportunity. But TPP also opens up new markets in the growing economies of Vietnam and Malaysia. And it even provides additional access to Canada’s poultry, egg and dairy markets,” they stated.
   The letter’s signatures include those of former USDA secretaries Ed Schafer (2008–2009), Mike Johanns (2005–2007), Ann Veneman (2001–2005), Dan Glickman (1995–2001), Mike Espy (1993–1994), Clayton K. Yeutter (1989–1991) and John R. Block (1981–1986).
   “We should recognize that it is far better to be ‘on the inside’ of agreements like TPP, than ‘on the outside’ looking in. Being an insider gives all TPP participants an inherent competitive advantage over those countries which were not involved,” they wrote.
   “No trade agreement ever negotiated—TPP included—is perfect,” the former secretaries added. “But we should never let perfection be the enemy of the good, and this is a very good trade agreement. In addition to its market access benefits, it will establish the rules of the game for international trade – and help drive up standards for the entire world – for years to come. That is especially invaluable to a country like the United States, which tries to follow the rules of the global marketplace, whereas others often do not. TPP represents solid, committed leadership by the U.S. in international trade, and in one of the most dynamic, fastest-growing regions of the world.”