Charles Skelton: “Agricultural trade is critical to the state of Missouri. Exports of farm products boost Missouri's farm prices and farm…”

“Agricultural trade is critical to the state of Missouri. Exports of farm products boost Missouri's farm prices and farm income. Such exports support about 17,900 Show-Me State jobs both on and off the farm in food processing, storage, and transportation. In 2006, Missouri agricultural exports amounted to $1.4 billion and made an important contribution to Missouri's farm cash receipts that totaled $5.6 billion that year. The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement would provide increased market access to Missouri's agricultural exports by making agricultural trade a two-way street. Currently, 98 percent of Peru's agricultural exports benefit from tariff-free access to the U.S. market. On the other hand, most U.S. farm and food exports to Peru are subject to high tariffs and other non-tariff restrictions. Current tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods exported to Peru average 18 percent. As a result of this agreement, duties on more than 2/3 of these goods, such as prime and choice cuts of beef, soybeans, soybean meal, crude soybean oil, cotton, and wheat would be eliminated immediately. Duties on pork, dairy, corn, and beef varieties would be phased out over a period of time. Because the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement is so beneficial to American agriculture, it has been endorsed by four former Secretaries of Agriculture--John Block, Bob Bergland, Dan Glickman, and Clayton Yeutter.”