 The National Pork Producers Council and 39 state pork associations have sent a letter to Republican and Democrat leaders in the Senate and House urgeing them to approve three pending Free Trade Agreements. The groups are pushing for a vote on FTAs with Colombia, Panama and South Korea – as soon as possible - after receiving enabling legislation from the White House.
NPPC President Doug Wolf, a pork producer from Lancaster, Wisconsin, says these countries - are crucial markets for U.S. agricultural products, and the industry stands to gain sales with implementation of the FTAs. He says these trade agreements will add significantly to producers’ bottom line and create thousands of pork industry jobs.
In their letter, NPPC and the state pork associations pointed out if the U.S. fails to implement the three FTAs, these potential gains will become losses as we relinquish our export sales to countries that have implemented their own FTAs with Colombia, Panama and Korea. An Iowa State University economist estimates, once implemented, U.S. pork producers could be exporting an extra 770-million dollars worth of pork.
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