The National Chicken Council, along with more than 225 other members of the U.S. food and agriculture industry, on Monday sent a letter to Members of Congress expressing their support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and calling for a swift vote on TPP.  “If faithfully implemented, TPP will help level the playing field for U.S. exports and create new opportunities for us in the highly competitive Asia-Pacific region,” the letter said.

The letter pointed out that, according to American Farm Bureau Federation data, “TPP will boast annual net farm income in the United States by $4.4 billion.  USDA estimates that every $1 billion of U.S. agricultural exports in 2014 provided approximately 7,550 American jobs throughout the economy.”

“The TPP is critical to the livelihood of the U.S. food and agriculture sector because it will create conditions that encourage economic growth and increased employment in rural areas and throughout the supply chain,” the letter stated. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, “delaying the launch of TPP by even a year would represent a $94 billion permanent loss, or opportunity cost, to the U.S. economy. With net farm income at its lowest level since 2002, the costs of inaction are too high for us to ignore. We must act now,” the letter concluded

Among those receiving the letter were Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

The letter is available here.