NGFA, NAEGA Outline Trade Priorities

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) submitted a joint statement to the Trump administration this week regarding the performance of free trade agreements.

为了回应美国贸易代表办公室（USTR）和美国商务部（DOC）的评论，涉及政府对自由贸易协定的评估以及国家与世界贸易组织其他成员的贸易关系NGFA和NAEGA确定了更新和现代化美国自由贸易协定的机会，并强调了与主要亚太市场进行贸易谈判的紧迫性。

从跨太平洋伙伴关系协议中撤出“已经造成了一个空白，即外国出口竞争者正在积极利用损害美国农业出口和我们国家的经济的利益，”stated the NGFA and NAEGA.

The two groups said key areas that would preserve and enhance U.S. agricultural competitiveness and facilitate trade include not only expanded market access and tariff concessions, but also:

• improved regulatory consistency and cooperation;
• removal of non-tariff barriers that lack scientific merit;
• enabling innovation of information technologies;
• recognizing comparable regulatory systems for assessing the safety of plant breeding technologies;
• developing a consistent approach for managing low-level presence (LLP) of biotechnology-enhanced products that have undergone a safety assessment and are approved for use in a third country, but not yet approved for import by a U.S. free trade agreement-member country; and
• 确保安全，有序地通过铁路和卡车运输运输。

The organizations also noted their concern about the trading relationship between the United States and the European Union (EU), given the "many unscientifically based and unjustified barriers" erected by the EU to block U.S. grain and other agricultural products from entering its market. "NGFA and NAEGA urge the administration to work with the European Union to remove the barriers and promote a better trading relationship," the comments stated.

The NGFA and NAEGA concluded by noting they are eager "to work actively, constructively and expeditiously with President Trump and the administration's trade team" to develop strategies that will "preserve, improve and build upon existing and new trade relationships to benefit U.S. and world consumers."