US Grains Council happy with TPP results for ethanol and corn

In Washington, U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight on completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks said, “Our priorities in these talks have been focused on the broad goal of securing increased market access for U.S. grains and ethanol and ensuring that existing access remains open. That means lasting tariff relief, sanitary and phytosanitary provisions that will reduce the impact of non-tariff barriers, and meaningful global progress on the synchronous approval of biotech events.

“In 2014, the United States exported more than $6 billion in corn and corn co-products to the TPP region out of a world total of $11.4 billion. A TPP agreement is expected to increase the output of all grain exports from the United States by 11 percent.

“With these facts in mind, we look forward to working with our partners to evaluate the agreement produced by the negotiators, provide our best judgment on its merits and explain its benefits to our members that will inspire their support for the ratification process. As we dig into the details of the agreement for grains and ethanol, we do so with expectation about the huge potential of markets that offer 800 million customers with a combined GDP of $28 trillion.”