US poultry orgs support FTA approval

US poultry and egg producers, processors, and exporters are united in their strong support for the decisive passage and subsequent signing of legislation to implement free trade agreements (FTAs) with Korea, Colombia, and Panama.

Our industries have supported and urged approval of these agreements since negotiations were concluded more than four years ago, said USAPEEC, the National Chicken Council, the National Turkey Federation, and United Egg Producers in a joint statement.

It is estimated that the three FTAs will generate almost $1.4 billion in additional US poultry and egg export sales annually when the agreements are fully implemented. USDA calculates that the industry’s current annual exports of nearly $4.4 billion supports more than 50,400 US jobs, and that each billion dollars in US poultry and egg exports equates to about 11,525 American jobs.

KORUS FTA
The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) will greatly improve market access for US poultry and egg exports to South Korea, mostly by duty reduction and elimination. In 2010, US poultry product exports to Korea totaled $101 million.

With KORUS FTA approval, US poultry meat exports to Korea could rise to more than $150 million or 125,000 tons annually, with annual egg exports tripling to $12 million. Over the first 10 years of the agreement, this is expected to generate $720 million in exports.

US-Colombia FTA
The US-Colombia FTA will cut duties, eliminate variable duties and would give the United States a 27,040-metric ton tariff rate quota at zero duty with 4 percent annual growth for chicken leg quarters.

If the FTA is approved, US exports to Colombia are expected to rise from $22 million of poultry and products to $42 million by 2015. As duties come down over the FTA’s implementation period, annual exports are expected to exceed 180,000 metric tons by 2020, which is worth $135 million. Over 10 years, the US-Colombia FTA is expected to generate $660 million in new US exports.

US-Panama FTA
The US-Panama FTA will eliminate duties on some poultry products within five years and establishes a preferential duty-free tariff rate quota for chicken leg quarters that starts at 660 tons and grows each year by a 10-percent compound rate. Trade to this market is expected to grow steadily from $19 million in 2010 to $32.6 million by 2020 – for a total of $70 million in new trade over the next decade.