U S Chamber of Commerce : America's Farmers are Counting on Congress to OK Trans-Pacific Partnership

While Congress mulls the recently finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership, this much has become clear: America's farmers and ranchers are among those with the most to gain from the 12-nation agreement - and by extension, they have among the most to lose if lawmakers drag their feet on the deal.

'It's important that Congress understand what is in it for you. What does this mean for your bottom line as agricultural producers? What does it mean then for the money that you're able to spend in your communities?' Ambassador Darci Vetter, the U.S. Trade Representative's Chief Agricultural Negotiator the U.S. Trade Representative, told members of the American Farm Bureau Federation during an event last week in Orlando, according to the Des Moines Register. 'The longer we wait to take the steps to implement that agreement the more that's at stake for U.S. agriculture.'

Noting that farmers, ranchers and other agricultural businesses would be 'among the biggest beneficiaries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership,' the story explains that the agreement would phase out or significantly reduce tariffs for U.S. farmers selling to customers in nations such as Canada, Japan and Vietnam - three countries that already collectively account for 42 percent of all American agricultural exports, or $63 billion, every year.

For Iowa farmers, the story adds, that translates into 'more shipments of everything from corn and soybeans to pork and milk used in cheese and ice cream.'

Conversely, as the story points out, failure by the United States to cement the deal could prompt foreign customers 'to look elsewhere for goods that otherwise could come from the United States.'

''We all know that it's not going to be everything we want,' Morey Hill, a corn and soybean farmer based in Perry, Iowa told the paper. 'But I still think if we can get the level playing field that everybody talks about where we can know that dollar for dollar or pound for pound than we can hold our own and we need to do it because other countries are going to leave us behind.'

The board of directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation's largest organization representing the interests of farmers and ranchers, voted in December to support the TPP. Bob Stallman, the organization's outgoing president, said at the time :

'TPP promises to expand opportunities to some of the fastest growing markets around the world… Our members recognize that the rest of the world is not sitting still. Other countries are trying to set trading rules in their own best interest. This agreement goes a long way in establishing a much more level playing field for our nation's farmers and ranchers.'

U.S. farmers certainly aren't the only ones that stand to benefit from the trade pact. The World Bank recently released a report projecting that TPP would spur a roughly $100 billion increase in U.S. gross domestic product - a much-needed jolt as the American economy continues to find its footing.

'Steep tariffs and other trade barriers too often deny a level playing field for U.S.-made products and services in the Asia-Pacific region,' U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue said. 'TPP will remedy this by eliminating all tariffs on U.S. exports of manufactured goods, opening new markets for American agricultural exports, and strengthening trade in services. It will boost economic growth, provide new opportunities for small businesses, and help create American jobs.'