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Friday, 23 January 2009 08:59 |
Notice a trend here? US Senator Mike Johanns (Republican-Nebraska) and former Secretary of Agriculture, said that President Obama should have 'fast track' trade negotiating authority. Give credit where credit is due with a couple of prominent former Bush Administration officials emphatically stating this recently in public. Last week the TATT blog highlighted then outgoing USTR Susan Schwab's similar statement.
Senator Johanns understands the imortance of trade. His political journey has taken him from Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, to Governor of the state dependent on agriculture, to the Bush Administration as the Secretary of Agriculture before returning home to run for Senator a few years ago. He has the benefit of seeing from all levels the importance that exports have for his state.
Below is the full article from The Grand Island Independent in Nebraska. The link to the article on the newspaper's website is here:
Johanns calls for fast-track trade authority for Obama
By Robert Pore (robert.pore@theindependent.com)
Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009 10:05 PM CST
Now that Hillary Clinton has taken the reins of the State Department, U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., says trade must be part of President Obama’s new approach to diplomacy.
And that includes giving Obama fast-track trading authority.
“We need to look at diplomacy from the standpoint of a broad effort that oftentimes is not only relating to arms, defense and protection and that sort of thing but also related to economic growth worldwide and trade policies that make sense,” Johanns said on Thursday.
Johanns, a veteran of foreign trade missions as both governor and U.S. secretary of agriculture, said improved trade relations would be a vital part of an economic stimulus package that would benefit Nebraska’s economy.
He would like to give Obama trade promotion authority or the ability to fast track a trade agreement through Congress for the president’s signature.
Under fast-track negotiating authority, the president negotiates agreements that Congress can approve or disapprove but cannot amend or filibuster. Fast-track negotiating authority is granted to the president by Congress.
Fast-track authority was in effect pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974 from 1975 to 1994 and was restored in 2002 by the Trade Act of 2002. It expired at midnight on July 1, 2007.
“I will support that and lead the effort to give that to him,” Johanns said. “All he has to say is, ‘I need it and want it,’ and he will have my vote.”
Johanns said Nebraska’s $8.3 billion cattle industry would benefit greatly from increased trade from markets such as Japan, South Korea, China, Mexico, Canada and Russia.
“If you can sell more beef, pork or whatever, you are going to improve conditions for agriculture in Nebraska,” he said.
Nebraska was among the top 10 states in several areas of agricultural exports in fiscal year 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nebraska ranked third in feed grain exports with $1.26 billion; sixth in soybean exports at $812 million; second in live animal and meat exports at $801 million; second in hides and skins exports at $403 million; and 10th in wheat exports at $312.9 million.
On Thursday, the National Farmers Union urged the Obama administration to promote fair trade agreements that level the playing field for all producers.
In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative-designee Ron Kirk, the NFU board of directors said all future trade agreements “must address all factors of trade, including an assurance that trading partners meet the same high labor, environmental, and health and safety standards required by U.S. producers.”
The NFU board reiterated its endorsement of the Trade Reform Accountability Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, which would create a new trade agenda that recognizes the importance of agriculture production.
The board also urged Kirk to defend the U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labeling law, which has been challenged by the Canadian and Mexican governments.
“The law does not discriminate against any foreign country. The challenge is baseless,” the board said.
The American Farm Bureau Federation would also like to see an economic stimulus package that benefits farmers, ranchers and rural America.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman, in a letter to members of the House and Senate Appropriation Committees on Thursday, said an economic stimulus bill up for consideration by lawmakers “must include investment in programs that will strengthen American agriculture and rural life.”
“It is crucial to the future of rural communities that broadband deployment be approached in a manner that produces long-term economic growth,” Stallman said.
He urged the inclusion of $6 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 to build a reliable rural broadband network that is affordable, moves data quickly and securely and can be adapted as telecommunications technology changes.
“The slow or nonexistent deployment of modern telecommunication services in rural areas hinders the health, education, safety and economic opportunities of rural Americans. It also obstructs rural citizens’ access to goods and services enjoyed by Americans living in more densely populated areas,” Stallman said.
He also urged funding for the Rural Business Cooperative Service, to provide rural business grants and loans, as well as for health information technology that will improve the quality of health care services.
Improvement of the nation’s transportation system, particularly rural highways and the inland waterway system of locks and dams used to transport domestic goods including farm products to market, also is critical, Stallman said.
“Our rural highways and bridges are outdated and crumbling,” he said. “It is imperative that rural America get an equitable percentage of the proposed $30 billion for highway and bridge construction projects.”
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