Opening New Doors with the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement
A “new deal” recently has been established in United States agriculture, and though it is not like FDR’s New Deal, it has also been created to economically boost United States farmers and businesses. [emember_protected custom_msg=”Click here and register now to read the rest of the article!”]
The United States and the country of Panama have introduced a new agreement, the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (or Panama TPA), which will allow easier exportation of U.S. goods into Panama’s markets.
The agreement would allow more exportation of sugar, dairy, and several types of fruits and vegetables to Panama with the elimination (or gradual reduction) of tariffs and other exporting obstacles. The inclusion of high-quality beef has been a popular focus on the agreement for the government and farmers alike.
“This agreement eliminates a 30 percent tariff on all our higher-end cuts of beef and all the remaining cuts will have their tariffs phased out over the next 15 years,” says Kent Bacus, associate director of Legislative Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Association. “Given the growing population of Panama as well as the United States, we see this as a nice addition as these types of beef are more enjoyed by the Latin American palate.”
Nearly 50 percent of exports will have no tariffs while the other 50 percent will have their tariffs phased out over the 15-year period, both allowing the U.S. more access to the competitive export market in Panama.
Products that will have no tariffs include frozen turkeys, soybeans, corn oil, wheat, cotton, whey and most peanuts, as well as several processed goods. Some products, such as pork, rice, dairy, standard grade beef and chicken leg quarters, will have no tariffs with certain amounts of the products sent to Panama.
Florida will benefit from the agreement’s establishment with more exportation of fruits and vegetables as well as live cattle that can be acclimated more smoothly to Panama’s similar climate. Already, Florida’s exports in agriculture to all countries total $1.5 billion in sales and provide about 12,600 farm and farm-related jobs in the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
The hopeful success of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement may lead to the development of trade agreements with Columbia and Korea.
For more information about the trade agreement and how your business might be able to benefit from it, please visit www.beefusa.org or www.usda.gov.
CREDIT
article by BLAIR TOWNLEY