Although negotiators are trying to paint a bright picture for some type of agreement, the Trans Pacific Partnership Talks are still at an impasse. That’s because Japan refuses to bring their tariffs to zero and are being protectionist on sensitive products. Some in Congress have suggested moving ahead with TPP without Japan. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says if that occurs, the talks will be seen as unsuccessful.
Johnson says the major problem his group has with TPP and why they oppose it is because it represents what most U.S. trade deals have been over the past 40 years. He says they don’t address the ever widening trade deficit the U.S. is seeing.
He says the U.S. can’t keep buying more than it’s selling which adds to the problem. He says if there were three additional points of growth in the Gross Domestic Product the economy would be humming along at a progressive clip