Obama Faces Push Back from Ag Groups over TPP Negotiations

May 29, 2014

A coalition of agriculture associations in the United States are unhappy with the way that the Obama administration has been handling the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. In particular, concerns have been raised about the U.S. allowing Japan to keep its tariffs on certain agricultural products, including dairy, sugar, rice, beef, pork, wheat and barley.

In a release produced by the National Pork Producers (NPPC), agriculture groups urge President Obama to conclude TPP talks and leave Japan out of the deal, unless it agrees to eliminate its gate price system and tariffs on agricultural products.

Farm groups are worried that if the U.S. gives Japan special treatment that it will set a bad precedent, making way for other countries to request similar treatment. Ultimately, the stalled talks with Japan could jeopardize the entire trade agreement.

The TPP includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. According to NPPC, the combined countries account for almost 40 per cent of the global GDP.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.