U.S. pushes for ag in EU trade talks

Jan 14, 2019

But European representatives are more focused on industrial goods

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

American trade officials want ag products to be included in new trade negotiations with the European Union.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer included agriculture in his United States-European Union Negotiations document on Friday.

The United States is looking to “secure comprehensive market access for U.S. agricultural goods in the EU by reducing or eliminating tariffs,” the document says.

The U.S. exported US$11.6 billion worth of ag products to the EU in 2016, the USDA says. Tree nuts and soybeans were among the top items.

Farmers are appreciative of President Trump’s administration to include them at the negotiating table.

“We all know trade is important,” Robert Johnston, a soybean producer from Clearwater, Neb., and president of the Nebraska Soybean Association, told Farms.com. “More market access is better for all of agriculture.”

In December, more than 50 U.S. ag groups signed a letter to Lighthizer expressing the need to include agriculture in the upcoming negotiations with Europe.

The hurdle for U.S. negotiators now is convincing Europe to include ag in the discussions.

During a visit to the U.S. last week, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström indicated that any trade talks between the EU and the U.S. wouldn’t include farm products.

“We have made very clear agriculture will not be included,” she told reporters Friday, Reuters reported.

The bilateral discussions date back to July 2016 when President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to form a working group to reduce trade barriers.

Marc Bruxelle/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

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