|
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to travel to Japan, Vietnam
Story Date: 4/21/2016
| |
Source: USDA, 4/20/16
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Asia from April 21-27, leading the U.S. delegation to the G7 Agriculture Ministers Meeting in Niigata, Japan, and then traveling to Vietnam to underscore the significance of the U.S.-Vietnam agricultural relationship and the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to both nations.
At the G7 meeting, Vilsack and other participating ministers will discuss how G7 members can collaborate on improving the sustainability and resilience of agriculture and food production systems to address global food security in the face of climate change. Vilsack will also have the opportunity to advance U.S. priorities on agricultural innovation, climate smart agriculture, and open data. In addition to the ministerial, his schedule also includes bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other G7 nations to discuss agricultural trade matters important to the United States.
In Vietnam, Vilsack will meet with his counterparts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, among others, to discuss the details of the TPP agreement. Numerous U.S. exports, including beef, pork, poultry and dairy, will benefit significantly from the reduction and eventual elimination of Vietnam’s current high tariffs.
Vietnam remains one of the fastest-growing markets for U.S. food and agricultural products, with sales totaling $2.3 billion in 2015. Vietnam now ranks as the United States’ 11th-largest agricultural export market, with top products including cotton, tree nuts, soybeans, and dairy. Just 15 years ago, Vietnam was the United States’ 50th-largest market.
Vilsack will also meet with Vietnamese alumni of USDA’s Borlaug and Cochran fellowship programs, which have enabled researchers, policymakers and agricultural specialists to work alongside their U.S. counterparts, acquiring knowledge and skills to help support Vietnam’s agricultural sector and capacity for meeting international trading standards.
Agricultural exports have climbed more than 35 percent in value since 2009 under the Obama Administration, totaling a record $919.6 billion over the past seven years. Agricultural exports support more than 1 million American jobs. Since 2009, USDA has removed numerous unfair restrictions to U.S. trade to help farmers export more. USDA has also led more than 225 U.S. agribusinesses and more than 20 State Departments of Agriculture on agricultural trade missions to China, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, India, Iraq, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam.
|
|
|
|
