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May 27, 2016 CapitalPress.com 9 Report: Paciic Rim trade deal Idaho curtailment list further trimmed good for agriculture, mostly By JOHN O’CONNELL Wheat industry criticizes federal study By DON JENKINS Capital Press Agriculture more than any other major sector of the U.S. economy would beneit from the 12-nation Trans-Paciic Partnership, but some farmers would miss out on the gains, according to a report by the U.S. International Trade Com- mission. U.S. dairymen and cattle- men would be among the big- gest winners, according to the report. Fruits, vegetable and nut growers also would gain from tariff reductions. Wheat, rice and soybean farmers, however, could see their overall exports decline, as TPP increases foreign com- petition and U.S. agriculture puts more resources into rais- ing meat for new overseas cus- tomers, the report states. Wheat and soybean trade groups discounted the report’s indings and reafirmed their strong support for TPP. The National Association of Wheat Growers called the report “out of touch.” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall urged Congress to pass the trade agreement. “Approving this deal would give U.S. agriculture greater access to some of the fastest-growing markets in the world at a time when we need market expansion like never before,” Duvall said in a writ- ten statement. The trade commission’s 780-page study constitutes the federal government’s oficial economic analysis of TPP. If implemented in 2017, TPP would create an addition- al 128,000 U.S. jobs and raise national income by $57.3 bil- lion by 2032, according to the commission. The commission noted the gains in employment and income would be less than 1 percent compared to not im- plementing TPP. Agriculture would fare better than the services sector or the manufacturing, natural resources and energy sector, according to the report. The commission estimated TPP would increase U.S. farm output by $10 billion, primari- ly because Japan and Vietnam would open their markets by phasing out tariffs and lifting limits on imports. The $10 bil- lion increase would be roughly equal to the value of Washing- ton state’s annual farm produc- tion. U.S. producers could ex- pect to see signiicant gains in sales of beef and processed foods to Japan, dairy prod- ucts to Canada and Japan, and fruits, vegetables and nuts to Vietnam, the report noted. The potato industry would almost triple french fry sales to Vietnam within ive years, according to the report. Grow- ers could also expect increased sales of french fries and dehy- drated potatoes to Japan. Paciic Northwest grow- ers would be the most logical source of those potatoes, said Matt Harris, government rela- tions director of the Washing- ton State Potato Commission. TPP’s elimination of tar- iffs on nuts should help U.S. almond growers in the highly competitive export market, ac- cording to the report. Lower tariffs should boost apple sales to Vietnam and Malaysia. Japan also will phase out tariffs, but TPP does not resolve the phytosanitary issues that have kept U.S. ap- ples out. According to the commis- sion, increased beef and dairy exports would be felt through- out the U.S. farm economy. Ranchers and dairymen could be expected to increase their herds, driving up the de- mand for animal feed and the competition for land, squeez- ing producers with less to gain by trade liberalization, accord- ing to the report. The trade commission sin- gled out wheat and soybeans as crops that could be adversely affected. Don Jenkins/Capital Press A ship waits to be loaded at the Port of Tacoma in Washington state. A new report by the U.S. International Trade Commission projects the Trans-Paciic Partnership would increase U.S. farm production by $10 billion by 2032, primarily by exporting more food to Japan and Vietnam. The report also said that while U.S. wheat farmers could expect to gain business in Viet- nam, they may lose Japanese customers to cheaper Cana- dian wheat. The overall result would be lat production. The wheat growers asso- ciation issued a statement, challenging the report’s con- clusion. The association said the U.S. sells more wheat to Japan now than competitors and TPP won’t give Canadians a new advantage. The trade commis- sion’s analysis, the association said, was “out of touch with the reality of Japan’s prefer- ences for U.S. wheat.” “The assumptions made in the ITC report are disappoint- ing and misleading,” wheat association President Gordon Stoner said in a written state- ment. Most importantly, TPP can be the vehicle for increasing trade with countries that are not now part of the agreement, such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, according to the wheat association. “Congress should act quick- ly to enable farmers to take full advantage of the potential eco- nomic opportunities at stake under TPP,” Stoner said, The American Soybean As- sociation said TPP will beneit its members by increasing do- mestic demand and prices for soybean meal to feed livestock. “When our partners in the pork, poultry, beef and dairy industries do well, we do well,” said Delaware farmer Richard Wilkins, soybean association president. The trade commission agreed that soybean prices would rise, but that would hurt exports, particularly to China, which is not a TPP partner. U.S. rice farmers could ex- pect increased sales to Japan, but that would be more than offset by losing market share in the U.S. and Mexico to Viet- namese growers, according to the trade commission. USA Rice Federation re- sponded to the report by reaf- irming that it wasn’t ready to endorse TPP, a stance shared by the California Rice Com- mission, a spokesman said. Capital Press BOISE — The Idaho De- partment of Water Resources sent notices of curtailment May 18 affecting 160 junior groundwater rights in re- sponse to the Surface Water Coalition’s 2005 delivery call. The department’s order will be effective June 3, meet- ing a state requirement to give affected water users ample time to join a groundwater district with an approved mit- igation plan and avoid cur- tailment, said IDWR Deputy Director Mat Weaver. “We met this morning and went over the practices and staff and timing it will take to be ready to curtail,” Weaver said, adding the department is coordinating with water dis- tricts and watermasters. IDWR’s curtailment list included 44 fewer water rights than Weaver’s initial estimate, mostly due to the removal of water rights that staff deter- mined had been obtained un- necessarily for uses that were already covered by a domes- tic-use exemption. Idaho code speciies the domestic groundwater ex- emption applies to “the use of water for homes, organization camps, public campgrounds, livestock and for any other purposes in connection there- with, including irrigation of up to one-half acre of land if the total use is not in excess of 13,000 gallons per day.” The exemption also covers other uses if the diversion rate is below 0.04 cubic feet per second and a volume of 2,500 gallons per day. In at least one case — in- volving an Idaho Falls busi- ness that treats groundwater used for cleaning gravel and re-injects it into the aquifer — Weaver explained cur- tailment wasn’t necessary because the use was non-con- sumptive. The coalition’s surface ir- rigators iled the call based on junior groundwater users’ contributions to declining spring lows into the Snake River downstream of Black- foot. IDWR’s methodology or- der calculates the coalition is owed 44,200 acre-feet this summer, factoring in this sea- son’s water outlook. The no- tices went out to groundwater users with priority dates ju- nior to February of 1989 who aren’t covered by one of four IDWR-approved mitigation plans. America’s Farm and Ranch Database ONE LOW PRICE. UNLIMITED LISTINGS. WEEKLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER. 1-800 UPLOAD SUPPORT. JOIN FARMSELLER TODAY CALL 1-800-882-6789 FOR DETAILS! 4-2/#13
