By RACHEL LANE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — International trade agreements and their importance to agriculture have been a key focus for the last few weeks. A hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means looked at agriculture and trade, and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) announced its support for the Farmers for Free Trade (FFT) nonprofit.

NAFTA renegotiations continue, as well, and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said Japan is expanding market access for chipping potatoes. South Korea’s trade agreement with the United States, KORUS, has taken a backseat to the other news, but the last official statement from the White House said it is a possibility the U.S. would pull out of the agreement.

Last week, Perdue said he did not want to disrupt NAFTA negotiations by speaking in too much detail. He did say the concerns of Florida and Georgia farmers about trade with Mexico are being considered, in that he has empathy for the farmers, but needs to consider the industry in regards to the trade agreement.

He also stated the potential trade agreement with the European Union has stalled. He said while he speaks with the leaders of European countries and they have a positive dialogue, anytime a decision needs to be made, the leaders “crawl back under the EU flag and plead their inability to carry out those desires from the EU prohibitions.”

Perdue returned from a trip to Europe last week and reported EU leadership says the people don’t trust the safety of American products. When he asked regular consumers in Spain about this, he said he received the impression the safety and nutrition of American food wasn’t a question, and that more American products would be welcome on the shelves.

As rules currently stand, the manufacturers of some American products – such as Kraft Mac & Cheese and Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal – have had to build factories in Europe in order to provide the products to the EU market.

“We need to be very transparent, very honest with one another and … we need to address those based on sound science bases and not hiding behind ... myth,” Perdue said.

He thinks it is time for American agriculture to reach out directly to European consumers with information. He wants to encourage EU leadership to allow products on the shelves with factual and fair labels and let consumers make the choices.

Success depends on access

“Today, the success or failure of the U.S. beef industry depends on our level of access to global consumers,” said Kelley Sullivan, National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. member. She has a ranch in Texas and was one of the people who testified during a recent hearing on Capitol Hill.

“We are extremely concerned that prolonged NAFTA negotiations and withdrawal/modifications to KORUS will pose unnecessary setbacks for the U.S. beef industry.”

She urged members of the Ways and Means committee to move quickly to negotiate a deal with Japan, an opportunity lost when the United States walked away from the Transpacific Partnership. The Asian market provides opportunities for cuts of beef not typically consumed in the U.S., like organ meat.

“Trade allows us to capitalize on differences in consumer preferences,” Sullivan explained. “Exports are critical to U.S. beef producers – and the rural economies that depend on them – because they allow us to maximize the value of each carcass.”

Zippy Duvall, president of the AFBF, hosted a recent press conference in conjunction with the leadership team for FFT. The new organization is focused on building bipartisan support for free trade at a grassroots level.

“We cannot just sit aside while the rest of the world works together,” he said. “More than 20 percent of farm income comes from agricultural exports. Farmers and the rural communities that benefit from a strong ag economy cannot afford to lose that income.”

To have a profitable rural community, farms need to prosper. Farmers need international trade to be profitable, he said.

“Aggressive unilateral trade agreements have consequences and it cuts into the pockets of American ranchers,” said Sara Lilygren, president of the FFT board. “It’s not just the farmers with a livelihood on the line.”

She said the FFT will focus efforts on education of local and state government officials and farmers. Efforts will start with states with major crops that are impacted by trade agreements, such as in the Midwest. Each state will have a current agricultural leader to head the campaign there.

“I’m violently aware of the importance of trade in Kansas,” said Rich Felts, president of Kansas Farm Bureau. Kansas exports about $4.5 million of agricultural goods. The economy of the entire state relies on a secure demand for ag commodities.

Former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar co-founded FFT with former Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat. Lugar, a Republican, said trade with other nations is critical to stabilize the economies of farming communities across the country. He said the production of about 1 out of every 10 planted acres in the United States is sold to Mexico or Canada.

During a conference on Oct. 4, Perdue said he hopes trade talks will begin with Japan to expand exports of farm productions in a bilateral trade agreement, to help counter the processed preference for Australian beef. Japan has been a strong export market for U.S. agriculture commodities, importing about $11 billion worth in 2016, and is the fourth-largest importer of U.S. goods.

In 2015, a Japan-Australia agreement went into effect and, since that time, the tariffs on Australian products have decreased. It has caused the cost of U.S. beef to be more expensive to Japanese consumers than Australian beef.

This summer, Japan raised the tariffs on all beef imports from countries with no trade agreements – including the United States. Tariffs for frozen beef spiked at 50 percent, while Australia’s tariffs remain below 30 percent.

“We want to bring down high tariffs (in Japan) on beef and pork, and dairy and fruits and vegetables, and many other products,” Perdue said. “I will be an unapologetic advocate for American agricultural products around the world. Losing those exports would be devastating to farm income.”

The U.S. exported $140 billion in agricultural products in 2016, a near-record. Agricultural exports help create about 1 million U.S. jobs a year. If foreign markets close, domestic prices will decrease and farm communities will be stressed economically, Perdue said. Domestic demand isn’t growing, which means the markets of the future are overseas.

China is the biggest importer of U.S. agricultural products, but many things are restricted, he said. Negotiators are trying to open the market more.

Also last week, former Indiana ag chief Ted McKinney was sworn in at the USDA as the new under secretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. He was unavailable for comment.