Panama Free Trade Agreement Will Benefit Beef Industry

Panama Free Trade Agreement Will Benefit Beef Industry

Panama Free Trade Agreement will Benefit Beef Industry

On Wednesday of this week, the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement will go into effect. After the break, we will learn more about how this will benefit the beef industry, I’m KayDee Gilkey with Open Range.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association's Associate Director of Legislative Affairs, Kent Bacus gives some examples of how the implementation of the US-Panama Free Trade Agreement will benefit U.S. ranchers.

Bacus: “The US-Panama Free Trade Agreement, what that means for us is that we are going to see the immediate repeal of a massive 30 percent tariff on all of our prime and choice cuts with a 15-year phase out on the remaining tariffs on the lesser cuts. This FTA also provides equivalency standards for inspection and it brings Panama’s import requirements for BSE in line with international standards.”

In 2011, the United States exported more than $504 million of agricultural products to Panama, one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America. It is forecasted to have between five to eight percent annual growth through 2012. Bacus shares this agreement provides U.S. ranchers access to this valuable market.

Bacus: “But more importantly it gives us access to the two-thirds of the consumers in the western world and it increases our foothold in an ever growing Latin American market.”

I’m KayDee Gilkey with Open Range on the Ag Information Network.  

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