The following press release is from the U.S. Wheat Associates:
The U.S. wheat industry welcomes the announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos that the countries will implement the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA) on May 15. The U.S.-Colombia FTA is vital to the wheat industry’s efforts to rebuild market share in one of the largest markets for U.S. wheat in South America.
Implementation of the FTA will eliminate all tariffs on U.S. wheat imports into Colombia. The agreement creates a level playing field for U.S. wheat farmers, as export competitors Canada and Argentina already enjoy duty-free access to the market.
“We are extremely pleased to see this FTA set for implementation,” said Alvaro de la Fuente, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) regional vice president for South America. “Our extensive efforts over the nearly six years since the agreement was first signed have finally become a reality and U.S. wheat exports will now compete on an equal basis with other major exporters.”
Colombia is currently the second largest destination for U.S. wheat in South America. In marketing year 2010/11, Colombia imported about 800,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat from five of the six U.S. wheat classes. The implementation of the FTA will help the United States regain the market share lost this year after the Canada-Colombia FTA went into effect on Aug. 15, 2011.
“We have already started the push to win back the wheat export business we lost without this FTA in effect,” said Randy Suess, a wheat farmer from Colfax, WA, and USW chairman. “Based on our work, we know this agreement, and others like them, will help us rebuild and expand markets, grow our economy here at home and remain the most reliable supplier of wheat in the world.”
The U.S. wheat industry has been highly supportive of the FTAs with Colombia, South Korea and Panama and other free trade measures.
“All three of these pacts are important to wheat farmers, who depend on exports to sell about half of the wheat we grow every year,” said Erik Younggren, a wheat farmer from Hallock, MN, and president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). “The implementation of both the U.S.-Colombia and the U.S.-Korea FTAs gives us encouragement that we will soon see the agreement with Panama complete in the very near future.”
The United States is the world’s largest wheat exporter, offering customers around the globe a reliable, high-quality supply of six wheat classes. In the 2010/2011 marketing year, ended May 31, 2011, the U.S. exported nearly 1.3 billion bushels (35.4 million metric tons) of wheat valued at $10.3 billion, supporting thousands of jobs and economic benefits across the country. More on the industry’s trade work is at www.wheatworld.org/trade or www.uswheat.org/whatwedo/tradepolicy.
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is the industry’s market development organization working in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers.” The activities of USW are made possible by producer checkoff dollars managed by 19 state wheat commissions and through cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org or contact your state wheat commission.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates
Posted by Haylie Shipp
