The Trans-Pacific Partnership will tear down trade barriers and help level the playing field for U.S. agricultural exports to 11 nations across the Pacific Rim. Ratifying TPP will boost annual net farm income in the United States by $4.4 billion, compared to not approving the pact, according to an economic analysis conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
In Oklahoma, the TPP agreement is expected to increase cash receipts by $144 million and net exports by $102 million per year. The agreement also could mean an increase of 770 jobs in the state, due to increased marketing opportunities for Oklahoma’s farmers and ranchers.
“TPP will mean a boat-load of expanded exports and increased demand for America’s agricultural products,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “Clearly, America’s farmers and ranchers have much to gain from approval of TPP and we support its ratification. American agriculture is a growth industry, and to continue that trend, we must expand our market opportunities.”
Not approving the trade deal would have adverse effects, too.
“While our farmers and ranchers have a lot to gain with passage, the consequences of not approving the deal would be harmful,” Duvall said. “Every day we delay means lost markets as other TPP countries implement the deal’s advantages with each other. We are already arriving at the party late because, right now, expanded trade due to TPP is going on across the Pacific Rim – just without us.”
While procedural steps along the way will take time, Duvall said “the sooner TPP is ratified, the better it will be for American agriculture.”
The agreement has been approved by negotiators from the 12 TPP nations. The U.S. International Trade Commission is preparing an official analysis for the administration, which will formally ask Congress to ratify the deal.
The full analysis by AFBF is posted here. Find the Oklahoma fact sheet here.
