Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 7/6/16


With both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the meat industry continues to implore Congress to approve the deal by the end of the year.

Last week Trump said, if elected, he would not only withdraw from the TPP, which was finalized last year but has yet to be approved by Congress, but also renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Responding to criticism from the Trump campaign, the Clinton campaign recently stated, “Hillary Clinton opposes TPP today, she will oppose it in November, and she would not move it forward in January. Hillary Clinton has made clear that she is not interested in tinkering around the margins with TPP. As she has said repeatedly, she believes we need a new approach to trade that protects American jobs, raises incomes for American workers, and strengthens our national security."

Meanwhile, Clinton’s former rival Bernie Sanders is pushing hard to toughen the language in opposition to the TPP in the Democratic platform.

All this leaves a shrinking window for TPP between now and the election, or during the so-called “lame duck” session of Congress between the November election results and the presidential inauguration in January.

Meat industry lobbyists do not expect Congress to attempt a vote before the election. One Washington insider told Meatingplace if the Republican party maintains control of the Senate after the election, a Trump victory would be more likely to lead to a lame duck session push for passage than a Clinton victory, as her position on the issue is seen as more malleable, given her support of TPP while she was Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

The beef and pork industries have a large stake in TPP’s passage, given those industries’ increasing dependence on export markets.

The National Pork Producers Council estimates TPP would open and expand to exports of U.S. pork markets that include nearly half a billion consumers and help create more than 10,000 U.S. jobs tied to those pork exports.

For the beef industry, it is a matter of playing catch up. Japan is the largest export market for U.S. beef, amounting to $1.3 billion this past year. Currently, U.S. beef faces a 38.5 percent tariff in Japan. The Australia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement has given Australian beef has a 10 percent tariff advantage over U.S. beef. If TPP were passed, the tariff rate on U.S. beef into Japan would immediately drop to 27.5 percent and continue to reduce to 9 percent over 16 years.

TPP negotiations began in 2008 and concluded last October. The regional trade deal would include the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

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