Ken Calvert: “American agriculture needs trade promotion authority. Without granting the President the authority to negotiate…”

“American agriculture needs trade promotion authority. Without granting the President the authority to negotiate preferential trade agreements, this industry is guaranteed to face dark days. Ninety-six percent of agricultural growers' potential market is outside of the United States. It is a business there for taking, but if we do not give our farmers and ranchers the tools they need to compete in the world market, other countries will gladly fill the gap. Today, of the 133 preferential trade agreements worldwide, the U.S. participates in only two. Compare that to the European Union, who participates in 27. Furthermore, the European Union also outspends us almost four to one on subsidies. Granting Presidential trade authority is our only weapon of combat on the uneven playing field of world agriculture. We cannot continue to stand idly by while other nations improve trading opportunities for themselves. Our agriculture industry is the most productive in the world. It is an honor and status that should be rewarded, and the best reward we can give our agricultural growers for their efforts, and to keep our country prosperous, is to pass trade promotion authority.”