[CTC] Agriculture secretary: NAFTA could be a ‘trilateral TPP’

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Video and transcript at: https://www.c-span.org/video/?428489-1/agriculture-secretary-sonny-perdue-testifies-rural-economy

NSIDE US TRADE
Agriculture secretary: NAFTA could be a ‘trilateral TPP’

May 17, 2017 
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, outlining his trade agenda, told House members today there are portions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that could be fashioned into a renegotiated NAFTA agreement.

Asked if TPP could be a basis for NAFTA talks, Perdue said “absolutely.”

“I think again many of the principles that were included in that -- and actually in tandem with the renegotiation of NAFTA -- you might see a sort of trilateral TPP,” Perdue said at a House Agriculture Committee hearing on May 17. “I’m just suggesting that, but many of the principles that you all had in the negotiation are still viable. It’s just a matter of fine tuning those in a way that makes sense.”

He added that the Trump administration is for free trade as long as it is also “fair trade.”

The Agriculture Department, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will form a “triumvirate of sales,” Perdue added. USDA’s contribution will largely come via the new trade under secretary <https://insidetrade.com/node/158684> introduced in a reorganization of the department -- someone Perdue said will be a “million-mile flier around the world.”

On China, Perdue said there are still technical issues to be worked out on the export of U.S. beef, as agreed to in the initial outcomes of the U.S.-China 100-day plan <https://insidetrade.com/node/158723> announced earlier this month. “It ain’t over till it’s over,” Perdue said, citing remaining work to be done with the Chinese on an issue that has dragged on for some time.

Perdue was also pressed on ensuring that China approves a number of biotechnology traits that have been floundering in Beijing’s regulatory process. China, in the 100-day plan, has pledged to assess the safety of those products by the end of the month.

Perdue said the safety of those biotech products has already been demonstrated and that their approval in China would be instrumental in persuading other markets that such products should qualify for purchase.

In his opening statement, Purdue highlighted China and Canada in his promise to assist the administration in enforcing trade rules.

“I assure you that USDA will use all the instruments available to us to ensure our agricultural producers and products get fair treatment in foreign markets,” he said. “For example, we are challenging China’s trade and support measures affecting our grain exports, and we are actively engaged in addressing the discriminatory and unfair dairy policies that Canada recently implemented. This Administration will not stand idly by as other countries try to take advantage.”

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-TX), in his opening statement, also singled out China's agriculture support <https://insidetrade.com/node/155799> and its tariff-rate quota policies <https://insidetrade.com/node/156931>, which the Obama administration initiated challenges of at the World Trade Organization, as priorities for Perdue, as well as Mexico’s alleged dumping of sugar into the U.S.

“Thank you for your role in helping ensure that the United States fully enforces its trade laws, including against Mexico’s illegal dumping of sugar onto the U.S. market,” he said. “I also want to underscore the importance in your leadership in working with USTR to continue building the case against China's domestic support and TRQ administration for corn, rice and wheat.”

“If we are to regain America’s confidence in trade, we must hold our trading partners accountable for their commitments. On the topic of the importance of trade, you announced this week that you are embarking on a reorganization of the Department of Agriculture which would include an undersecretary focused solely on trade,” Conaway added. -- Jack Caporal(jcaporal at iwpnews.com <mailto:jcaporal at iwpnews.com>)

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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