Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2016)
OREGON & WASHINGTON INNOVATORS INSIDE FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016 VOLUME 89, NUMBER 31 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 Agricultural backers of the Trans-Pacific Partnership hope the treaty will be approved after the election and before the new president takes office TRADE GAP By DON JENKINS Capital Press D “We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us.” – Donald Trump onald Trump and Hillary Clinton may agree on only one issue in the November presidential election: They don’t like the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership. The 12-nation treaty would meld existing trade agreements with six Pacifi c Rim nations and include fi ve other up-and-coming trade partners. Included in the deal are three of the largest U.S. trade partners: Canada, Mexico and Japan. But both the Democratic and Republican nominees have come out against the TPP, and demanded that their running mates switch positions and do the same. Trump was fi rst to condemn the treaty. He announced his bid for president on June 16, 2015, at the Trump Tower in New York City. But before he talked about terrorism or immigration, he riffed on trade. “We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us,” Trump said. Then, pressured by left-leaning Bernie Sanders in the Demo- cratic primaries, Clinton reversed course — she once called it the “gold standard” of trade deals — and joined Trump’s criticism of the TPP. At a reconciliation rally this month with Bernie Sanders, Clin- ton denounced TPP. “And we’re going to say ‘no’ to a tax on working families and no to bad trade deals and unfair trade practices, including the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership,” she said. Broad support TPP has broad-based support from agriculture. In April, 229 farm associations and food processors signed a letter to House and Senate leaders backing TPP. The following month, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall made a joint pitch in a conference call to reporters. “No country — no country — is going to realize more benefi t from the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership than the United States,” Vilsack said. “And we’re going to say ‘no’ to a tax on working families and no to bad trade deals and unfair trade practices, including the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership.” – Hillary Clinton Turn to TPP, Page 12 Russia bans cultivation, breeding of GMOs Ecology may reconsider Law expected to have long-term effects on global ag By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Russia has banned the cultivation and breeding of genetically engineered crops, which may have long-term consequences for biotechnol- ogy in global agriculture, ex- perts say. Biotech critics and sup- porters agree that the prohibi- tion won’t have an immediate impact on U.S. farmers, since Russia doesn’t currently pro- duce genetically engineered crops or import many of them. However, the new law does close a potentially large market for U.S.-grown bio- tech crops in the future, said Mary Boote, executive direc- tor of the Global Farmer Net- work, a nonprofi t that advo- cates for trade and technology in agriculture. “Long term, we should all cost of Wash. dairy rules Farmers see threat to industry By DON JENKINS Capital Press In this image, fi eld corn is delivered to the Green Plains ethanol plant in Shenandoah, Iowa. Much of the U.S. crop of fi eld corn, which is used for animal feed, sweeteners and ethanol, is geneti- cally modifi ed. Russia has decided to ban most GMO crops. be concerned,” she said. The ban applies to culti- vation and breeding of ge- netically modifi ed organisms, or GMOs, within Russia, but doesn’t outright ban imports of them if they’re already ap- proved in that country. Turn to GMO, Page 12 BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Dairy farmers and envi- ronmentalists Tuesday crit- icized new manure-control rules the state Department of Ecology plans to fi nal- ize early next year, accus- ing state regulators of be- ing too meddlesome or too lax. At the fi rst of two public hearings on the proposal, farmers said dairies already are heavily regulated and that Ecology’s new layer of Don Jenkins/Capital Press Lynden, Wash., dairy farmer Sherman Polinder gestures while testifying July 26 in Bell- ingham on the Department of Ecology’s proposed permit for concentrated animal feeding operations. mandates would be unnec- essary, expensive and even dispiriting. Turn to RULES, Page 12 “Helping Northwest Farmers Find the Right Equipment for the Job” pacificageq.com 541-561-0446 • Hermiston, OR 31-1/#6