The Idaho Wheat Commission

(Boise, ID) -- Congress holds in its hands an historic opportunity to expand prosperity in rural America in the form of pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Peru, Colombia, South Korea, and Panama. For example, the American Farm Bureau Association estimates that after full implementation of FTAs in Peru and Colombia alone, U.S. agriculture could see more than $1.3 billion in new trade to these markets. All four agreements are particularly good for Idaho’s wheat growers who depend on exports.

“America exports about half of the wheat we grow every year, so increasing access to every market, large or small, is important,” said Idaho Wheat Commission Chairman Gordon Gallup. “Wheat growers need these agreements to maintain market share or, in the case of Colombia and Peru, recapture precipitous losses to competitors such as Argentina who already enjoy preferential market access.”

FTAs will level the competitive playing field by ensuring U.S. wheat duty-free access immediately upon ratification. U.S. Wheat Associates, the industry’s export market development organization, expects the FTAs with Peru and Colombia will help bring in incremental sales of $200 million per year to wheat growers, wheat industry stakeholders and their communities. A proposed zero bound duty in the Korean FTA will help make U.S. wheat more competitive in a rapidly expanding market aggressively targeted by monopoly wheat exporters Australia and Canada. Additionally, establishing long-term trading partnerships through these FTAs will help raise the standard of living for millions of our Latin American neighbors and give the U.S. a stronger trading position in North Asia.

That is why the U.S. wheat industry was encouraged when Congressional leaders were able to achieve bilateral consensus on language in the FTAs for labor relations and the environment but disappointed that after weeks of negotiations, Congress left for recess without ratifying a single agreement. U.S. wheat growers are also concerned that because the four agreements seem to be in varying stages of approval and additional debate is expected on the Colombia and Korea FTAs, ratification could be delayed even longer. Continuing to stall these agreements only results in lost opportunity and opens the door for our competition to surge ahead by negotiating deals in some of the same markets. That just doesn’t make sense.

Gordon Gallup believes that FTAs offer the best opportunity for U.S. wheat growers to compete in these critical markets. Gallup wants to encourage Idaho wheat growers to ask their Congressional leaders to recognize the merit of each agreement and obtain support from the rest of Congress for ratification of all four agreements as soon as possible this fall. It is time to break these FTAs free from their holding pattern and let opportunity fly for Idaho’s wheat growers, U.S. agriculture and rural America.