“China is a hungry nation and the United States and other countries are critically important trade partners,” De Young stresses. “Consumers in China have a great desire for new and healthy foods, and see the United States as a leader in providing them. It’s my belief that China will eventually join the TPP to maintain its position as a world trade leader.”
Another concern is related to payments and currency. “The obvious downside to the TPP is the possible manipulation of currency,” suggests De Young. “I believe before this trade partnership is ratified, safeguards will be put in place to prevent such actions.”
Since the TPP and its accompanying documentation were released and posted by President Obama in early November, the 90-day review period will conclude in February.
The agreement must be approved by the appropriate legislative bodies in each partner country, and in the United States, this means drafting Congressional legislation for implementation with produce groups and trade associations lending a hand. “We’ll work very hard on this to ensure we get a good hearing in Congress,” confirms Keeling of the National Potato Council.
At press time, the industry continued to parse the language of the agreement. There will still be procedural steps needed to enact TPP, even if Congress would approve it before Super Tuesday; for one, the U.S. will have to review the 11 other country approvals to verify they meet the standards for the agreement stipulated by Congress.
If these standards are met, it puts U.S. exporters on the way to a significant surge in fruit and vegetable shipments to Asia-Pacific importers. With this kind of growth potential, Powers likely speaks for most produce interests: “There are really no downsides to this agreement from our perspective; maybe a few disappointments, but no downsides,” he concludes.
Image: ©iStock.com/redmal/Panacea_Doll
