Giving the President Trade Promotion Authority is one step closer to reality. The Senate passed the legislation Wednesday with a vote of 60 to 38. Earlier this month, TPA was passed by the House. TPA will allow the White House to send trade deals to Congress for up-or-down votes. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said this is great news for American beef producers.
“It’s huge for us, because we know that in order to make sure that we maintain what we got as an industry and to grow our industry, it’s going to require more consumers around the world eating our product,” Woodall said. “And the only way we get that done is with trade agreements. So TPA ensures that the United States has the opportunity to go to the table and be a part of crafting these deals that will us the access.”
With passage of TPA by the House and Senate, the legislation now moves to the President’s desk. TPA will give President Obama and the next President the ability to finalize pending trade agreements. In signing TPA into law, this will help efforts move ahead with the Trans Pacific Partnership. This is a trade agreement between the U.S. and countries in the Asia Pacific region. Woodall said the biggest win for the beef industry will be reducing trade barriers with Japan. Recently, Japan was the largest export market for U.S. beef in totaling $1.6 billion with a 38.5 percent tariff. The TPP negotiations will significantly reduce the tariff, possibly below ten percent and Woodall said that will keep more money in the pockets of producers.
The U.S. is also under tremendous pressure to get the TPP and other trade agreements passed. Woodall said Australia has already crafted a bilateral trade agreement with Japan, so if the TPP agreement isn’t reached soon, then Australia will more access to Japan, at a reduced tariff rate than the US.
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