The European Union Trade Commissioner told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that including agriculture in any U.S. E.U. trade deal is a non starter. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall says agriculture must be a part of those talks or there can’t be any free trade agreement.
He says NCBA and other U.S. ag groups will be pressuring the USTR to make sure any trade deal worked out with the E.U. involves them removing any non tariff trade barriers and basing trade on sound science.
Woodall says the most successful trade deals have been those that rely on sound science and remove non tariff trade barriers.
The discussions next year between the U.S. and E.U. could be completed by October 2019 when the current terms for the European Commission expire.
