OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
A4
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Countries want our
business, but does
Congress want
them to have it?
F
arm groups are
lauding a new agri-
cultural trade deal the
administration has reached
with Japan.
During the 2016 elec-
tion President Donald Trump
campaigned against trade
deals that he said put U.S.
producers at a disadvan-
tage. Once elected he made
good on his promise to pull
out of the Trans-Pacific Part-
nership, which was the pact
regulating trade among 12
Pacific Rim nations.
Trump said he would
replace TPP with bilateral
trade deals.
The new deal is good
news for U.S. farmers and
ranchers. Japan represents a
$14 billion market for U.S.
farm products. Without this
deal, American agricul-
ture would face significantly
higher tariffs than compet-
itors that are a part of the
11-party successor agree-
ment to TPP.
According to the deal,
Japan will reduce tariffs on
products valued at $2.9 bil-
lion in stages. Among the
products benefiting from
this enhanced access will be
fresh and frozen beef and
pork.
Tariffs will be elimi-
nated immediately on more
than $1.3 billion of U.S.
farm products including, for
example, almonds, blueber-
ries, cranberries, walnuts,
sweet corn, grain sorghum,
food supplements, broccoli
and prunes.
Other products valued
at $3 billion will benefit
from staged tariff elimina-
tion. This group of prod-
ucts includes, for example,
wine, cheese and whey, eth-
anol, frozen poultry, pro-
cessed pork, fresh cherries,
beef offal, frozen potatoes,
oranges, egg products and
tomato paste.
This deal with Japan
underscores two obvi-
ous points that make bilat-
eral agreements possi-
ble. Our trading partners
want our goods. The Jap-
anese, for example, have
sought out wheat produced
in the Pacific Northwest.
More importantly, our part-
ners are anxious to get their
goods into the United States,
the largest economy in the
world.
While we don’t pretend to
understand the Trump nego-
tiating strategy, and aren’t
sure there is a strategy, new
trade deals are being ham-
mered out.
The administration says
its deal with Japan doesn’t
substantially change U.S.
law, so it doesn’t require
congressional approval.
That’s good news, if it’s
true. Congress hasn’t done
anything to ratify the United
States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement, the replacement
for the North American Free
Trade Agreement announced
a year ago.
While it’s clear other
countries want our busi-
ness, it’s not clear Congress
is interested in giving it to
them.
GUEST COMMENT
Socialism isn’t the solution
to unfair drug prices
By Stacy Washington
P
resident Trump promised
“America will never be
a socialist country” — at
least not while he’s in office.
But some members of his
administration didn’t get the
memo.
The Department of Health
and Human Services still plans
to impose socialist, Euro-
pean-style price controls on
advanced drugs administered
through Medicare.
The proposal would tie
Medicare’s drug reimbursement
rates to the average prices paid
by governments that impose
price controls on medicines.
Officials hope their scheme will
reduce pharmaceutical spending
in America.
Their plan would jeopardize
Americans’ access to state-of-
the-art drugs.
The administration wants
to overhaul Medicare Part B,
cancer medicines.
Price controls would also
subvert efforts to develop cures
for deadly diseases.
Medical research is risky. It
costs $2.6 billion to develop a
new drug.
Close to 90 percent of exper-
imental treatments fail to gain
FDA approval.
Price controls make it dif-
ficult for companies to recoup
their upfront costs. They kill
the incentive to invest in cures.
If HHS adopts these price caps,
drug development will grind
to a halt — and patients will
suffer.
Fighting socialism with
socialism will only harm
patients. Let’s hope President
Trump nixes HHS’ plan.
Stacy Washington is a dec-
orated Air Force veteran, an
Emmy-nominated TV personal-
ity and the host of the nationally
syndicated radio program ‘Stacy
on the Right.’
which covers advanced drugs
administered in doctors’ offices.
These drugs cost 80 percent
more in America than in other
developed countries. HHS’ plan
would gradually ratchet down
Medicare reimbursement rates,
so that the government would
pay, at most, 26 percent more
than the average developed
nation price.
Copying socialist tactics will
only make it harder for Ameri-
cans to access new therapies.
Many of the newest drugs
aren’t available in developed
countries that impose price
controls. Only two-thirds of
new drugs launched world-
wide between 2011 and 2018
are available in the United
Kingdom.
Roughly half are available in
France and Canada. By con-
trast, 88 percent of those new
drugs are available in the
United States — including
nearly 95 percent of new
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A destination
every year —
until this year
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityoflongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.
com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website:
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol
or messages for legislators) — 800-
332-2313.
• Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario – 900
Court St. NE, S-301, Salem 97301.
Phone: 503-986-1730. Website:
oregonlegislature.gov/Bentz. Email:
Sen.CliffBentz@oregonlegislature.
gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/findley. Email: Rep.LynnFindley@
oregonlegislature.gov.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
To the Editor:
In July we planned a fam-
ily gathering at Raddue Camp-
ground. My sister-in-law spends
every summer in her camper in
Fox so using the Raddue Camp-
ground has always been our des-
tination — until this year. Before
the date of our gathering, Arvilla
stopped to check the camp-
ground only to find that a ditch
had been cut across the road.
The outhouse (toilet) and picnic
tables had been removed.
My husband’s parents, Ardith
Reed Moore and Sinice Moore,
are Grant County pioneers, and
that campground has been used
by them, as well as extended
families, for at least 70 years.
‘Is it ever
going to end?’
To the Editor:
Your headline story regarding
the Hammond family was such a
shock. My first thought was, “Are
they ever going to leave this fam-
ily alone?”
The animosity toward them
is beyond belief. It seems to me
to be a vendetta against a family
that is just trying to ranch and be
able to be a respectful family in
Harney County.
The backfire that they set to
save their cattle was nothing
compared to the huge fires we
have witnessed these last years
that the federal Forest Service
have let get out of control. There
is no accountability for the loss
of homes, animals, fences and
more.
Yet the Hammonds are treated
like the worst criminals at best
or terrorists at worst. My final
thought is, “Is it ever going to
end?”
Darlene Nodine
John Day
L
ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express
themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked
to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you
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limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@
bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
Publisher............ ......................................Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com
Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com
Reporter ...................................................Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com
Community News .................................Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com
Sports ........................................................Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com
Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Administrative Assistant ..................Makenna Adair, office@bmeagle.com
Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
It is difficult to understand
why this and other small camp-
grounds are no longer main-
tained. Areas like this one pro-
mote a great deal of family
togetherness and, therefore, fam-
ily values.
If, by chance, there is some-
one that has an answer as to who
or why the decision was made
to ignore these historic sites, we
would appreciate knowing that
information — county govern-
ment, state government, federal
government?
Norma L. Moore
Belgrade, Montana
Online: MyEagleNews.com
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