Ethanol Blog

ITC Report Meets With Mixed Reactions

Cheryl Anderson
By  Cheryl Anderson , DTN Staff Reporter

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement would likely have a positive effect on U.S. agriculture exports, including corn and distillers grains, according to an article in the High Plains Journal by Larry Dreiling (http://bit.ly/…).

A report from the U.S. International Trade Commission in May looked at the effect the TPP would have on the U.S. economy, projecting the TPP could raise the U.S. annual real income by $3.7 billion by 2032.

The ITC report stated that while U.S. exports and imports are estimated to grow by $27.2 billion (1%) and $48.9 billion (1.1%) higher than projections, the greatest gain relative to projections would be the agricultural and food industries, with a $10 billion (0.5%) increase by 2032.

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The report was met with mixed reactions by some agriculture industry groups.

National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling said the report fails to stress the importance of Congress passing the TPP. In a press release on the NCGA website (http://bit.ly/…), Bowling called the TPP "a big step in the right direction for America's farmers and ranchers" at a time when the farm economy is struggling.

Bowling said, "The National Corn Growers Association has been pushing for TPP on the Hill because it is important for the entire U.S. farm economy. We urge Congress to vote in favor of TPP as soon as possible."

The ITC report predicts that although corn exports would see a slight decrease, the increased domestic demand for livestock would more than compensate for the small loss. However, Dan McGuire, trade policy analyst for the American Corn Growers Foundation, said the trade deal will result in a loss of $31 million in corn exports per year.

The report said farmers need to feed more grain domestically to indirectly benefit from the TPP by exporting beef and dairy. However McGuire criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new domestic policy that "seriously limits new corn demand growth from ethanol," arguing that greater production of distillers grains could help counteract the effect of reduced corn exports.

The other countries in the TPP are: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com.

(CZ)

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