The Trade Ministers and representatives from the 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries met in Vina del Mar, Chile, to discuss the future of the TPP. They then continued with a “High Level Dialogue on Integration Initiatives in the Asia-Pacific Region,” bringing in representatives from China, Colombia, Korea and the United States.
The International Beef Alliance (IBA) is pleased that this group held these discussions and that Ministers came with open minds about the possibilities for moving forward on trade liberalization. With that mindset, the dialogue produced the constructive outcome that Ministers confirmed their desire to liberalize trade in the Pacific region and that negotiators will meet to find a path forward with respect to implementation of substantive elements of the TPP Agreement.
The IBA applauds this pivotal progress as a strong signal that the substance of the TPP remains very much in play. The TPP members of the IBA will continue to work with their respective governments to support their efforts to bring the substance of TPP into effect.
As this process moves forward, it is important that international trade agreements benefit all people, including small business owners. Hundreds of thousands of beef producers in the member nations of the IBA are small business owners, trying to make a living for their families by raising cattle.
International trade is the lifeblood for beef producers, since the value of each animal can only be maximized when every part of the animal can be sold to the market that most values it. The terms agreed under the TPP will enable our producers’ products to gain access to more markets. Bringing the market access terms of the TPP into effect will mean more money in the pockets of farmers.
Source: CCA