Farm union head predicts Trans-Pacific Partnership will fail to deliver

Roger Johnson noted the U.S. trade deficit was up 6 percent in 2014 and there are several well-known currency manipulators in the TPP trade agreement.
Roger Johnson noted the U.S. trade deficit was up 6 percent in 2014 and there are several well-known currency manipulators in the TPP trade agreement. | File photo

During his testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission on Jan. 13, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson warned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will not live up to its promises for job, economic and trade growth.

“Unfortunately for this nation, when it comes to these enormous trade deals, the list of promises is quite long but the list of actual deliverables is often very short,” Johnson said. “Instead of helping curb the U.S. trade deficit, agreements like the TPP are actually making it worse.”

Johnson said TPP will hurt rural Americans who are most looking forward to the benefits promised by the agreement.

Among reasons Johnson cited for his outlook, the U.S. trade deficit was up 6 percent in 2014 and there are several well-known currency manipulators in the TPP trade agreement.

“Without measures to enforce restrictions on currency manipulation, free trade agreements aren’t worth the paper they’re written on," he said. "While modest increases in agriculture export opportunities may occur with trade agreements, they can be severely overshadowed by the resulting massive increases of imports of agricultural and other products. This is very likely the case with TPP, and underscores why we are opposed to the TPP.”