NASHVILLE¸ Tenn., Feb. 6, 2014 -- Beef producers from the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand issued a statement today expressing concern that some member countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) may seek to exclude some “sensitive products” from duty-free access.
“Granting a TPP member any such exclusion would result in other members seeking similar treatment, leading to a decline in the agreement’s level of ambition and the resulting economic growth that it would bring,” the beef producers, members of a partnership known as the Five Nations Beef Alliance, said in the statement. Mexico is also a member of the alliance, but has not taken a position on the issue addressed in the statement.
The producers said they continue to advocate that any TPP agreement must conform with the TPP ministers’ position stated in 2011 of eliminating tariffs and other barriers to trade.
The FNBA comprises the Cattle Council of Australia, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association from the U.S., as well as Mexico’s Confederacion Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas. Together, FNBA represents producers from countries that account for a third of global beef production and approximately half of global beef exports.
#30
For more news, go to: www.agri-pulse.com
