Agricultural News
Trump Strikes Deal with Japan - NCBA Lobbyist Colin Woodall Affirms It's Just What Cattlemen Wanted
Thu, 26 Sep 2019 10:27:51 CDT
After President Donald Trump spoke at the United Nations General Assembly this week, he sat down with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to ink a trade deal between the two countries that for the US beef industry, is very important. Colin Woodall, chief lobbyist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, was on hand in New York to witness the ceremony. In an interview over the phone with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, Woodall remarked that the new agreement is just what the industry had hoped.
"It's a fantastic agreement. It is exactly what we wanted- the opportunity to catch up on the tariff level with all of the other TPP countries which of course are our major competitors there in Japan," he said. "Since they have had TPP access, we have seen them take some of our market share. We knew the only way we were going to fix that was if we could level the playing field and that's exactly what this agreement does and as long as there is a level playing field, we'll be able to beat them on taste any day of the week."
Woodall is optimistic that this deal will be implemented sooner rather than later. According to him, Japan's legislature, The National Diet, will still need to review the deal and ratify it. However, the US Congress does not in this case, which means the only thing left to wait on is the final approval of Japan's government. Woodall anticipates the deal will be fully implemented and in place by the first of the year. He considers that a big win for the US beef industry and a great way to start the year out.
With the deal now well-underway, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says this should be the impetus for our policy leaders to refocus their efforts on getting the USMCA Agreement passed. According to Lighthizer, the votes to pass the deal are there. He says it will simply be a matter of applying pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get the bill brought to the Floor for a vote. Woodall adds that while talk of impeachment has surfaced, he is hopeful the complexity of that issue will not impede the USMCA's path forward, though he recognizes that in regard to the way in which Congress operates, certainty is often quite elusive.
Listen to Woodall discuss the US-Japan trade deal in further detail with Hays, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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