KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Farm groups last week joined the federal departments of Agriculture and Commerce to praise the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as the U.S. Trade Representative and White House continued pushing for what would be the world’s biggest free trade agreement to date.

Leaders from the largest corn, soybean, wheat, beef and pork producer groups joined USDA administrators to praise the TPP Nov. 11, at the National Assoc. of Farm Broadcasting annual convention in Kansas City. "We all want the same thing: more American agricultural products on dinner tables around the world," said Chip Bowling, president, National Corn Growers Assoc.

Grain farmers see potential for increased exports in the TPP, which would reduce tariffs on U.S. grains in Malaysia and Vietnam. U.S. Grains Council President Phil Karsting called Vietnam "the fastest-growing feed grain market in the world," citing growing middle class consumer demand for meat and eggs from animals fed U.S. grain.

Pork and beef groups are also eying South Asia markets, citing the TPP’s framework for reducing protectionist trade barriers in Japan. U.S. pork stands to gain market share in Japan, under TPP language, according to National Pork Producers Council analysis.

Wade Cowan, American Soybean Assoc. president, said the TPP will face a challenge in Congress, where members of both parties have expressed opposition or skepticism about the deal.

"We’ve seen climates like this before, complete with political polarization and the added stress of an election year, but even in those times we’ve still managed to put together a coalition of industries and congressional allies to move beneficial packages through," he said.

The TPP is supported by the largest farm and commodity groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation. But some agricultural and rural interests, like the National Farmers Union, have spoken against the deal.

All three Democratic presidential candidates also oppose TPP, citing fears over American job loss. Bernie Sanders has issued sharper criticism of the deal than Hillary Clinton, who in October said she opposed the deal. They and other Democrats have distanced themselves from President Barack Obama’s push for TPP, citing fears of potential U.S. job losses, in some sectors.

"I disagree with their conclusion," said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker last Thursday. "Our companies need to have access to those markets to remain globally competitive."

The Department of Commerce released state-by-state estimates of the economic benefits of TPP. Indiana, for example, exported $20.2 billion in products to potential TPP partners in 2014 – 57 percent of the state’s exports. About one-quarter of that are agricultural exports, according to the USDA.

U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman indicated the executive branch will continue its push for TPP as Congress considers the 30-chapter deal, more than 2,000 pages long. "We’re doing everything in our domain to move the process forward," said Froman. "The President made clear he’d like to get this done as early as possible."

Farm equipment and other machinery manufacturers are an ag-related industry that could benefit from the deal, according to Froman. "These are countries that buy a lot of machinery," he said. "If we can tear down those tariffs, we can keep production here," instead of seeing jobs move to manufacturers in Asia, he said.

The TPP would reduce trade barriers in 12 economies bordering the Pacific Ocean: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. The agreement also includes language requiring partners to adhere to certain labor and environmental requirements, as well as guidelines that could help more easily reconcile trade disagreements around biotechnology and plant and animal disease concerns.