09/22/08 Trade Issues Get Attention

Trade Issues Get Attention. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Three big trade issues for U.S. agriculture are vying for attention these days. First, farmers and ranchers are waiting for Congress to approve the Colombia free trade agreement, which lawmakers have put on hold since last year. SALMONSEN: It's a very good agreement for U.S. agriculture. Once Colombia lowers all its tariffs we think we'll get another seven to eight hundred million dollars a year of agricultural product into Colombia more than doubling what we send them now. American farm bureau trade specialist Dave Salmonsen says progress on world trade organization talks is next on the list. Agricultural negotiators are trying to get those talks back on track. SALMONSEN: Agriculture has been at the heart of these trade negotiations. It's the one thing that all of the 153 nations, the members of the WTO, have in common. And harder for everyone to agree. Then there is Russia, which has halted U.S. poultry imports from a long list of U.S. processing plants, saying they don't meet Russian health standards. SALMONSEN: Russia is the #1 poultry market for U.S. Exporters, so it's a huge market for us. Over about a billion dollars worth a year of trade, poultry exports to Russia. That's something we want to see maintained and grow. Salmonsen says a quick resolution on any of these issues, seems like a long-shot. SALMONSEN: Why should America's farmers and ranchers labor under these tariffs into Colombia where we can through this agreement have a level playing field and be competitive in what is a growing Colombian market. So we're certainly urging Congress to take up this agreement and pass it as soon as possible. And with more trade comes jobs. SALMONSEN: It's just going to generate more business and more jobs. Those extra exports, that's more production here. That's more work for our transportation industry people, for our port people. Trade makes jobs. This year our agricultural exports overall are over $100 billion, the largest ever and are growing. Taking down other countries' barriers, as they agree to do, just gives a broader base for the future, so we can still have growing agriculture. This just gives us a broader customer base for the world and that's going to help the U.S. Economy years to come. You can be sure we will be keeping our eyes on these trade issues in the coming weeks and months. If you haven't logged on to our website, point your browser to www.aginfo.net. There you will find many great stories every day on all aspects of agriculture. Keep checking back as some exciting new changes are coming. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.