International Beef Alliance Statement: Ministers from TPP countries confirm focus on trade liberalization in Pacific
region, IBA applauds progress
March 17, 2017
On March 15, 2017, the Trade Ministers and representatives from the 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
countries met in Vina del Mar, Chile, to discuss the future of the TPP. They then continued with a “High Level Dialogue
on Integration Initiatives in the Asia-Pacific Region,” bringing in representatives from China, Colombia, Korea and the
United States.
The International Beef Alliance (IBA) is pleased that this group held these discussions and that Ministers came with
open minds about the possibilities for moving forward on trade liberalization. With that mindset, the dialogue produced
the constructive outcome that Ministers confirmed their desire to liberalize trade in the Pacific region and that
negotiators will meet to find a path forward with respect to implementation of substantive elements of the TPP
Agreement.
The IBA applauds this pivotal progress as a strong signal that the substance of the TPP remains very much in play. The
TPP members of the IBA will continue to work with their respective governments to support their efforts to bring the
substance of TPP into effect.
As this process moves forward, it is important that international trade agreements benefit all people, including small
business owners. Hundreds of thousands of beef producers in the member nations of the IBA are small business owners,
trying to make a living for their families by raising cattle.
International trade is the lifeblood for beef producers, since the value of each animal can only be maximized when every
part of the animal can be sold to the market that most values it. The terms agreed under the TPP will enable our
producers’ products to gain access to more markets. Bringing the market access terms of the TPP into effect will mean
more money in the pockets of farmers.
The International Beef Alliance includes the national organizations representing beef cattle producers in Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay and the United States. Together, the Cattle Council of Australia,
Associação dos Criadores de Mato Grosso, Associação Nacional dos Confinadores de Brasil, Canadian Cattlemen's
Association, Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas, Asociación Rural de Paraguay, Beef + Lamb New Zealand
and National Cattlemen's Beef Association, represent producers from countries that account for 46% of global beef cattle
production and 63% of global beef exports: www.internationalbeefalliance.com