The American Farm Bureau says now is the time for the White House to “engage” on trade, after a year that saw little progress on new trade deals. From China to the U.K. and EU to Kenya, Farm Bureau Trade Adviser Dave Salmonsen said there is much to do, to bring down barriers to U.S. farm goods.

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“There’s a lot that could be done, moving towards future agreements with China. We want this administration to start to engage more in the Asia Pacific region. One of those ways would be to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or as has been renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.”

There’s also the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that took effect January 1st which includes China, Japan, Australia, and other Asian countries, but not the United States. When asked about the emphasis on domestic issues during the first-year of the Biden Administration, rather than on trade issues, Salmonsen said the White House can focus on both.

“Do the domestic focus and also work on the international issues, it’s always been said that when foreign leaders come to the White House, they’re always there to talk about trade issues.”

Key, he noted, for the overall U.S. economy; and agriculture. Salmonsen concluded, “as much as an Administration wants to set out its own agenda, the world continues.”

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