The National Potato Council (NPC) this morning released the following release regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal:
The National Potato Council supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and believes that passage is necessary during the final days of the 114th Congress, which concludes Jan. 3, 2017.
TPP includes tariff reductions that are critical to growth in exports of fresh, dehydrated and frozen potato products. Without those tariff reductions, competitors that have or are currently negotiating deals with the TPP trading block have a strong competitive advantage.
“The U.S. potato industry can compete with worldwide growers, processors and distributors if the playing field is level,” said NPC vice president for trade Cully Easterday. “The TPP tariff reductions in our key markets, including Japan and Vietnam, allow us to go head-to-head with our foreign competitors and successfully win the business.”
The International Trade Commission’s report this summer confirmed that lower tariffs on exports would allow potato growers and exporters to meet the rising demand in the Asia-Pacific region by making U.S. potatoes and potato products more competitive in those markets.
The NPC applauds the hard work done by U.S. trade officials to complete this landmark trade deal. The potato industry will benefit greatly from the opportunities the agreement provides. “The time is now to finally approve this historic agreement. Let’s not allow the work done to this point to fade away,” said NPC executive vice president and CEO John Keeling.