On Monday, October 24, the Sioux Falls Downtown Rotary Club hosted a US Senate debate between incumbent Republican John Thune and Democrat challenger Jay Williams.. One of the topic areas for this debate was agricultural trade policy. The two really don’t have a lot of disagreement on the topic, but I think it is worth looking at briefly.
Thune and Williams were asked about their thoughts regarding international trade agreements. Specifically mentioned in the question was the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). About a year ago I looked at Thune’s stances in regards to TPP. He has not only been supportive of TPP, but has tried to get Democrats to support it as well.
Thune really didn’t say much about NAFTA. Instead he said
Trade deals that have been negotiated in the past, we can re-litigate those, and maybe there is some bad deals negotiated in the past. But we need to make sure going into the future, that when we negotiate these deals, that agriculture has a seat at the table.
Thune goes on to say that the ag market has to be opened up. He didn’t say it directly, but Thune made it sound like the country would be disengaging from international trade if the US didn’t sign on to TPP.
Williams was in agreement with Thune, saying this:
You know, I agree with Senator Thune on this. I believe that the TPP is good for South Dakota.
Williams believes it will help our agricultural exports and says he in general believes in free trade. He says current trade policy has decreased global poverty internationally.
This is one of the times I wish there was someone in the debate with a different point of view. Both candidates support TPP. Neither candidate mention how widely encompassing TPP is, and that it deals with much more than trade policies. There are many good areas for the US in TPP, but I have concerns about other non-trade portions of TPP that might be very bad for the US.
Then Williams takes this odd shot at Republicans, and Thune:
The question I have is if President Obama went out and negotiated this TPP deal, and the Republicans control both houses of Congress, why is it that it hasn’t been approved? And I think the reason for it is because we have a dysfunctional Congress that won’t get along.
Thune did reply to say Obama has never sent TPP to Congress.
I think Williams little attack on Thune was odd. I don’t really care if he attacks Thune. But in this case Thune is correct that Obama had not yet officially sent TPP to Congress. The Obama administration has held onto TPP for months, and only earlier this month notified Congress he will be sending TPP to them. By law that leaves at least thirty days before Congress can address TPP. The reason for that is now Congress must wait to take up TPP until after the election. This was a clear move by the Obama administration to shield TPP from being voted down by Congress at a time when many voters believe trade deals kill domestic jobs. After the election I have no doubt TPP will pass with bipartisan support and be signed into law by Obama.
On the next question Thune noted there are other trade barriers that are not tariff related which must be dealt with. One of those barriers is Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) trade policies. Thune notes 90% of the corn and soybeans grown in South Dakota come from GMO seed. He goes on to note many countries in Europe and Asia block American ag exports because of GMO crops. Thune notes there is no scientific basis for those countries to block imports of GMO products.
Williams noted there is no longer Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in the United States. I looked briefly at COOL last year. Williams believes South Dakota residents will buy beef made in South Dakota over beef made in Brazil, and that consumers should be able to know where that beef came from. I wish Williams had said whether he supports the World Trade Organization (WTO) policy that basically caused the US to switch the law on COOl.
TPP, GMO, and COOL are likely to be huge issues for the next Congressional session; at least in regards to the agricultural industry. I wish both candidates had spoken further about GMOs and COOL. I don’t think these are topics that will sway this election in any manner, but I do think these topics are important for South Dakota voters to understand.
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