The U.S. Business Coalition for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which includes the National Chicken Council, this week sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman urging a “high standard” agreement be negotiated. This means establishing new norms and expectations for rules in future trade agreements, not just in Asia, but globally.
Specifically, the coalition calls for comprehensive market-access liberalization, including the elimination of tariffs, as well as non-tariff barriers to trade. There is substantiated concern that neither Japan nor Canada has been willing to offer comprehensive reforms, as both countries seem intent on preserving the status quo for their most important sectors, the letter said. A failure to address these trade barriers in addition to a host of current issues facing U.S. exports would establish an adverse precedent for all future trade agreements, the coalition pointed out in its letter.
The letter signed by 43 members of the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP, consisting of agriculture and business groups, is available here.
