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To ITC: Current Trade Policies, Proposed Trans-Pacific
March 3, 2010 Washington, D.C. – The well-being of Rural America hinges on the success or failure of the U.S. live cattle industry. Fundamentally flawed free trade agreements, in part, have harmed this industry to the point of crisis, and failed U.S. trade policies have contributed to the exodus of half a million independent U.S. cattle producers, according to R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard, who testified Tuesday before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) at its hearing on the proposed U.S.–Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that soon will be considered by President Obama. R-CALF USA’s pre-hearing brief points out that: “The seven proposed TPP Agreement countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) have a collective cattle herd size of over 53 million cattle, and together, since 1996, those seven countries have increased their collective herd size by over 5.5 million cattle, while during the same period the U.S. reduced its cattle herd size by 6.9 million head. The effect of the failed U.S. trade policies that have facilitated this contraction and outsourcing of the U.S. cattle herd is that the U.S. eliminated the opportunity for over 10,000 U.S. ranching operations, each with a 500-head cattle herd, to continue contributing to the economic well-being of rural communities all across America.” During his testimony, Bullard said that while the U.S. has experienced increased trade (meaning both more imports and more exports), “The welfare gains and increased prosperity promised by the FTAs and current trade policies have materialized neither for the hundreds of thousands of U.S. farmers and ranchers who raise cattle, nor for the rural economies those farmers and ranchers support. “In fact, just the opposite has occurred because in order to expand export opportunities, the U.S. simultaneously invites more and more cattle and beef imports into the U.S. market with low beef tariffs or generous tariff-rate quotas,” he continued. “Imports have grown at a faster pace than exports, which has resulted in a price-depressing trade surplus for the United States.” Bullard also explained that any benefits that may have resulted from increased trade have been captured by the beef commodity industry and have not been allocated to U.S. cattle producers. Additionally, many U.S. export markets have not reduced their tariffs even close to U.S. levels. For instance, Japan’s tariff on beef is 38.5 percent, and South Korea’s tariffs range from 18 percent to 72 percent. Plus, many of the United States’ global beef export competitors – which also are major U.S. beef importers – refuse to reciprocate by buying meaningful quantities of U.S. beef, particularly in comparison to the volume they export to the United States. # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA directors and committee chairs are extremely active unpaid volunteers. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
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