Top Ag Negotiator Sets Sights On Africa, UK, EU

By Dennis McLaughlin, McLaughlin Writers LLC

In an upbeat presentation at the 2020 Ag Outlook Forum hosted by the Agricultural Business Council and Agri-Pulse Communications, Gregg Doud, chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, enthusiastically mapped out the way the U.S. will approach better trade agreements in key global markets. While his report focused largely on China (see Digging Deeper for full coverage of the Ag Outlook Forum program), his briefing on the trade opportunities with the EU, UK and Africa warrants a special report here.

Doud told attendees at the forum that the United States and the United Kingdom wrapped up the fourth round of trade talks this month. Another round is planned for mid-October. “I’m confident that we are going to get an opportunity to engage with them and work on such issues as tariffs, biotech and market opportunity. He noted tariffs on U.S. products will be high, close to 25%, when the UK leaves the European Union. But the U.K. imports $4.5 billion worth of beef, pork and poultry from the European Union. Doud reasons: “If we can get things right, I think we will have a fair shot at that, giving U.S. meat producers a new market.”

Doud is pessimistic about reaching a trade accord with the EU in the near future. “It is all the more difficult when you’re dealing with 18 or so Eurozone nations with special, national interests of their own,” he explained. But one of the biggest obstacles is the EU’s abandoning of bio and ag technology. Doud said the U.S. would make no apologies: “We’re going to use technology; it’s the way forward toward feeding nine billion people by 2050.”

Another bright spot on the U.S. foreign trade map is Africa. The U.S. has initiated negotiations with Kenya. “That’s our first entrée into the continent of Africa,” said Doud, adding that a successful deal with Kenya would send “a really strong signal with regards to the use of technology in agriculture.” That in turn could lead to deals with other African countries, many of which still follow in the footsteps of the EU, which openly distrusts biotechnology, Agri-Pulse reported. One key demand from the U.S., as it negotiates a free trade agreement with Kenya, is that the East African nation abolish its ban on most biotech crops. “Most farmers depend heavily on GMO seeds, and would like to see a success in Kenya spread throughout Africa,” said Doud.