Letters Nov. 26

Trans Pacific Partnership

From an agricultural standpoint, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is of great benefit to farmers and our state. Countries within the TPP account for 42 percent of all U.S. agricultural exports. Soft white wheat grown here accounts for a large share of that business. TPP puts farmers on a level playing field by removing barriers to trade, like tariffs and import duties.

Currently, TPP countries Vietnam and Malaysia have a growing middle class where diets are improving. The first thing they add is meat, which requires feed grains, and then wheat products. Lowering tariffs will increase opportunities for Washington wheat growers to capture a large share of these markets.

Since Washington exports almost 90 percent of the wheat we grow, and we are losing market share in the Middle East and North Africa, having new markets for our wheat is of great importance in the increasingly competitive world market. Of even greater benefit will be adding other countries to the TPP group, with Indonesia being a prime example. They have the fourth largest population in the world, and the consumption rate of wheat related products are some of the largest in the world. Even though they are much closer to Australia than the U.S., Australia does not have wheat like our soft white.

Very few states have a positive balance of trade, which means more goods leave the state than the amount of imports. Washington has this positive balance. While the number of increased jobs for our state will not be dramatic, extra sales of wheat will keep our competitors from stealing market share from us.

Without the passage of Trade Promotion Authority (Fast Track), congress would have debated and changed the TPP agreement for years. We are still a long time away from the final vote on passage, but it does bring the opportunity for everyone to look at all the ways we can benefit and things which are included. Here is a short list of those items:

1. It does address currency manipulation.

2. U.S. banks benefit from greater access to overseas markets.

3. Small business will find it easier to export.

4. Intellectual property is protected.

5. Labor and environmental standards would be raised.

Randy Suess,

Colfax