Chief Ag Negotiator Outlines Top Trade Priorities
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Doug McKalip is busy in his role as Chief Agricultural Negotiator with the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office. At the recent USDA Ag Outlook Forum, McKalip talked about some of his top priorities.
McKalip… “The first focus would be on keeping markets we have open. A lot of work has been done over decades of opening those markets in the first place, and our number one priority is to make sure that farmers continue to enjoy that market success. Number two is expanding, where possible, in the areas where we can increase volumes to those trading partners or maybe increase the number of products. That's certainly a second and very important area of focus for us at the White House.”
One of the biggest jobs at USTR is bringing down tariffs and opening up more access to foreign markets like India.
McKalip… “On February 2, India announced several changes to its tariff structure that are pretty significant for agriculture. Firstly, they reduced the pecan tariff by 70 percent, which was a very significant step. Secondly, India also eliminated its tariff on industrial ethanol, which, as we know, is a very important marketplace as U.S. grain and row-crop producers look to export biofuels around the globe, not just for industrial purposes, but for transportation and most recently for aviation.”
India has reduced its tariffs on certain feedstocks. McKalip said they are also making progress in the EU.
