Page 33 - Export or Bust eBook

largest barley export market.” So, he says settling NAFTA issues with Mexico and Canada should be
another priority.

U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) CEO Jim Sutter also sees Mexico as a very important market.

He’s concerned that the “rhetoric” around NAFTA has damaged the U.S. reputation as a reliable
supplier. He says this has led some Mexican buyers to consider for the first time “origination from South
America, and we’ve seen some of that happen.”

To counter damage from the NAFTA, TPP and China issues, Sutter says that “all of our farm groups

need to work together to ensure that our international customers know that we value them as customers
and know that we want to continue to be reliable suppliers.”

Sutter regrets opportunities lost due to
the U.S. TPP withdrawal. His hope is
that America will rejoin and that TPP
proves so successful that more countries
join, starting with the Philippines and
Indonesia. He hopes this could
eventually lead China to sign up.

USMEF President & CEO Dan Halstrom pitching U.S. meat in USSEC Southeast Asia Regional
Japan. Source: U.S. Meat Export Federation
Director Tim Loh, based in Singapore,
adds that “current concern with China

would certainly rank high among the
trade disruptions that have occurred.”
But he’s hopeful that “the posturing

on trade may be resolved sooner than
later.”

Faced with China imposing 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on a long list of U.S. ag products including beef
and pork, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) CEO Dan Halstrom is fighting back. “Exports are

always important for generating farm income and adding value for producers, but especially when the ag
economy is struggling,” he says. “If the U.S. ag sector doesn’t aggressively fight for global market
share, many competitors will be more than happy to take it from us.”

U.S. Apple Association President & CEO Jim Bair reacted to
China’s new tariffs by charging that “apple growers have been

caught in what seems will be a trade war between the White House
and the Chinese government.” He added that “Trade is extremely

important to the U.S. apple industry. We urge the administration

and China to quickly resolve the trade dispute so that our apple
exports won’t be disrupted.”

Bair also strongly supports NAFTA, calling it “the best trade deal US Apple CEO Jim Bair
in history.” With apple export sales at roughly $950 million a

year, and half of that business with Mexico and Canada, he says
“for a specialty crop like apples, that’s huge. It’s something
worth defending, and we are.”

www.Agri-Pulse.com 31