The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) hosted three days of hearings entitled TPP Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy and on Specific Industry Sectors. The goal of the hearings was to gather information for an economic analysis of TPP. Many animal agriculture groups gathered to testify on the pros and cons of the trade agreement.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have continued to play an active role in the trade agreement process. USDEC President Tom Suber testified before the USITC representing the U.S. dairy industry.

“USDEC, working with NMPF and other organizations in the dairy industry, is still completing its overall analysis of TPP,” said Suber. “The deal falls short in providing the degree of market access we had been seeking, but it also avoids a disproportionate opening of the U.S. market to dairy exporters. While we don’t give the pact a failing ‘grade,’ until we have come to a final analysis of its net benefits, we felt it was important to participate in USITC’s assessment and identify points we believe the agency should consider in its economic analysis.”

The agreement for example contains landmark non-tariff achievements dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules and geographical indication (GI) provisions. TPP’s groundbreaking GI provisions establish a more equitable international model for approaching the issue of GI registration in sharp contrast to the fundamentally flawed European Union approach that uses Gis in trade negotiations as bargaining chips for market access.

You can find a complete release outlining Suber’s comments here.

Kevin Kester, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Policy Division chair, also testified, stressing the importance of TPP for the cattle industry and urges Congress to pass.

“We have a very mature market in the United States, but 96 percent of the world’s population lives outside U.S. borders,” said Kester, a cattle producer from California. “With a growing middle class overseas demanding a higher quality diet, we need strong trade agreements like TPP in place to level the playing field and allow us access to those consumers who are asking for our product.”

“This agreement grants the greatest market access for U.S. beef ever negotiated into Japan,” said Kester “Since Australia implemented their own bilateral trade agreement with Japan last year, the U.S. has lost five percent of the market share, about $100 million in sales, in Japan. We cannot afford to wait on TPP or we will continue to lose market share.”