Cattlemen Call for Presidential Action on FTAs

Today in Montgomery, Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries John McMillan held a press conference to stress the importance of international trade to agriculture in this state. Alongside Commissioner McMillan were representatives of the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association, the Alabama Forestry Association, the Alabama Farmers Federation, and the five officers of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association. Below are comments distributed by ACA to the media as well as pictures from today's press conference.

Cattlemen in Alabama and around the country are calling for President Obama to send three pending Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to Congress. The agreements with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea would allow foreign consumers more purchasing power when buying U.S. beef.

“Our industry and our country needs some good news on the economic front. These trade deals would be just that; acting as an economic stimulus by encouraging the shipment of more U.S. goods and products around the globe,” says Leo Hollinger of Camden, President of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for every $1 billion worth of agricultural goods exported, approximately 8,000 jobs are created. Because these three pending agreements would generate nearly $2.5 billion in additional exports, they also stand to create around 20,000 jobs.

“President Obama is beating the drum for his new jobs package and that’s just what this trio of trade agreements are. This is a real opportunity to create an economic stimulus without burdening U.S. taxpayers,” says Dr. Billy Powell, Executive Vice President of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association. “The hard working members of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association have a very simple message for the President, ‘send these agreements to Congress so they can be passed and come back to your desk to be signed’”.

Each year, Alabama produces around 600,000 calves to enter the beef supply chain. These calves are among the 30 million cattle produced annually in this country. Export sales attribute nearly $200 per head to the value of each of these animals.  Already in 2011, the United States’ five largest export markets have increased the value of the U.S. beef they import from 23 to 54%. South Korea, the third largest importer of U.S. beef behind Mexico and Canada, has already imported over 98,000 metric tons of U.S. beef this year, a volume increase of 55% from 2010. This Free Trade Agreement with South Korea alone would mean more than an additional $1 billion to U.S. cattle farmers over the next decade.

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