TPP
GOP: It’s ‘a mistake’ for USDA to run food-stamp program
The Agriculture Department has run the $74-billion-a-year food stamp program since it was created half a century ago — "a mistake," according to the platform approved by delegates at the Republican National Convention. The campaign document says Republicans "will ... separate the administration of [food stamps] from the Department of Agriculture."
Conaway: GOP would help sink TPP if victorious Trump wants it done
If businessman Donald Trump wins the presidency, Republicans would feel obliged to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, said House Agriculture Committee chairman Michael Conaway. In a Roll Call video, Conaway, who volunteered in May to advise Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, on agricultural policy, says TPP already faces an uphill struggle for passage, so with Trump's opposition "it would be difficult to get that done."
Dissenting bloc tries to stall TPP momentum
While most U.S. farm groups favor the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, "agriculture is not unanimously supporting this," says Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union.
AFBF chief says low prices mean trying times on the farm
With farm income down sharply since 2013, "farmers are going through a trying time," said Zippy Duvall, the newly elected president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest U.S. farm group. "It is a very difficult time with commodity prices as low as they are."
Dairy group decides to support TPP and oppose U.S.-EU pact
The National Milk Producers Federation board voted to support the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact "containing features that will help America's dairy farmers in the future."
With signing of TPP, the question is ratification
Trade ministers of the 12 nations that negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership say the free-trade agreement "will set a new standard for trade and investment in one of the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic regions."
Obama to Congress: Pass TPP, end Cuba embargo
The United States can show its leadership in the world and reap benefits for itself through cooperative action, President Obama said in his final State of the Union speech. During the hour-long address, he asked Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific free-trade agreement and to end the half-century trade embargo on Cuba.
Heavy lobbying by agribusiness for TPP
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, covering 12 Pacific Rim nations with 40 percent of the world economy, "has drawn heavy lobbying from some of America's largest agribusinesses," says the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
TPP won’t stop Canadian retaliation over U.S. meat labeling
Groups representing Canada’s hog and cattle producers say the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement "will not prevent Canada from introducing retaliatory tariffs on American goods over the country-of-origin labelling dispute," reports Western Producer.
White House releases TPP text, critics pounce
The White House faced immediate criticism with its release of the text of the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
Froman: TPP to bring ‘significant export opportunities’ for dairy
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact will create "significant export opportunities" for U.S. dairy products, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, and will not damage the sugar sector. During a teleconference organized by the White House, Froman repeatedly cited TPP benefits for agriculture. When a reporter described the sugar and dairy sections of TPP as "basically a wash" between greater access to overseas markets while introducing additional competition at home, Froman said on dairy, "We believe we got a good balance."
Abe: “Japan’s agriculture has to change now”
Japan and the United States are close to an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a speech to Congress that pointed to his domestic agricultural reforms. Automobiles and agriculture have been two major and long-lasting issues in TPP negotiations. The free-trade pact would include 12 countries and 40 percent of the global economy.
Livestock, poultry groups ask Congress to approve TPA
Groups representing U.S. cattle, hog and poultry producers urged lawmakers to approve rules that assure trade agreements will get a yes-or-no vote with no amendments.
U.S. and Japan meet again on farm and automobile trade
Trade officials from Japan and the United States opened a new round of talks in Tokyo on two sticking points, agriculture and autombiles, in negotiations for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, said the Kyodo news service.
Ag negotiator sees “a lot of momentum” for TPP
The chief U.S. agricultural trade negotiator said there was "a lot of momentum" toward a Trans-Pacific Partnership pact after months of delays. The chief negotiators from the 12 TPP nations are in Washington this week, said Darci Vetter, of the U.S. Trade Representative's office. "We hope and think we will be closing this agreement soon." Vetter told the Farm Journal Forum that only the most sensitive products were left on the table, items that may need ministerial action.
Canada more recalcitrant than Japan on trade, says Vilsack
Canada "has not stepped up" in negotiations for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. He singled out Ottawa when asked if Japan should be dropped from the discussions because of unwillingness to open its agricultural markets to imports. The question, during a meeting of the CFTC's agricultural advisory committee, came from Paul Penner of the National Association of Wheat Growers.
Chief US negotiator says no TPP agreement during APEC
The chief U.S. trade official says there will be no major announcement in the next couple of days for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade group, says Reuters.
Stymie on Japan-US issues clouds TPP hopes
A face-to-face meeting of trade ministers from Japan and the United States "failed to reach a much-awaited breakthrough, seen as vital to advancing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, at a three-day meeting on the...