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Texas Agriculture Archive

June 7, 2002

Senate TPA passage
good news for agriculture

With key World Trade Organization agricultural negotiations scheduled for next month, the American Farm Bureau Federation praised the Senate for passing legislation to grant the president much-needed trade negotiating authority.

"Trade Promotion Authority for the president sends the signal to our trading partners that the United States is ready to assume a leadership role in these negotiations and has the backing of Congress to actively engage in the process," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "Senate passage was critical to the interests of U.S. agriculture."

WTO member countries will meet in early June and again in September to determine whether or not global disparities in tariffs, export subsidies and domestic supports will be eliminated or allowed to continue to the disadvantage of America's food and fiber producers.

"Instead of allowing other WTO member countries, such as the European Union, to lead negotiations based on their interests, President Bush's trade team will be able to actively rewrite the rules that will govern global trade in agriculture for decades to come," Stallman noted.

Farm Bureau believes TPA plays an integral role in improving the financial outlook for America's farmers and ranchers, Stallman said.

"Farms are dependent on exports for their economic viability, and have continued to be at a disadvantage in the world market without TPA," he added.

Stallman pointed out that U.S. agricultural exports face trade-distorting domestic supports that are "four times greater than U.S. supports, tariffs that are on average five times greater than our own and export subsidies that are 40 times what our producers receive. TPA will allow the United States to take advantage of the upcoming WTO negotiating opportunity to dismantle trade barriers that hurt farmer and rancher income."