Comment from Peter Thornton, North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

If the TPP is an all inclusive trade agreement, this is tremendous news and will have very strong support in the agriculture community in North Carolina, especially if we see the TPP expand further into other trading partners. However, If USTR decides to carve out certain agriculture products for non-trade related issues, it will be the start of a long and slippery slope that will require all our efforts to oppose, including the agreement itself. There are non-trade related issues on almost every agriculture product: biotech on row crops, animal rights on meat products, obesity on processed foods, allergies on nuts and health issues on tobacco, wine and other spirits. Those products make up the majority of the agriculture exports from North Carolina. If USTR sets precedence with the TPP that lobbying efforts can result in carve outs in trade agreements, big money will set its sights on NC exports. We will no longer work to support free trade, but spend our time fighting anti-agriculture interest groups. Ironically, I doubt a carve out would lead to any reduction in consumption. Our competition would not have to face trade barriers we place on ourselves. We would be handing our markets to foreign competition at the expense of rural America. Because we believe in free trade, that is something you fight tooth and nail to oppose.