Pork Producerrs Urge TPA Action

September 26, 2001

National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Barb Determan, noting the bipartisan spirit of cooperation and achievement in Congress, is urging House and Senate leaders to schedule a vote on granting trade promotion authority (TPA) to President Bush.

"Congress is united like never before," Determan said. The U.S. is showing the world how to work together to achieve a common goal. Surely, in this spirit of achievement and inclusion, Congress can break the impasse over trade that is smothering the economic progress of American farmers and ranchers."

"The passage of a free trade agreement with Jordan, which comes on the heels of a bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam, is encouraging," Determan continued. "However, the most important trade action that Congress can take for American farmers and ranchers, for U.S. economic growth and for worldwide economic prosperity is to pass TPA."

TPA, which has not been renewed since 1994, simply gives the president the authority to negotiate trade agreements that Congress can either approve or reject, but not amend.

"The only way our farmers and ranchers will succeed is through free trade and that can't happen in a meaningful way without TPA," Determan said. "The United States has the most open and transparent market in the world for agricultural imports. Average global tariffs on agricultural imports are 62%, while agricultural import tariffs in the U.S. average only 12%. Pork tariffs around the world are higher than the world average, while U.S. import tariffs on pork average about 3%. We need TPA now so we can level the playing field and create new opportunities for our producers."