April 15,2019

Grassley Statement on the Omission of Agriculture from E.U. Trade Negotiating Mandate

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa released the following statement in response to the European Union’s announcement that its mandate for a trade agreement with the United States excludes agriculture.
 
“The U.S.-E.U. trade relationship is a significant one. The decisions made in any bilateral agreement between the U.S. and E.U. impact economies around the world. With so much at stake, it’s important to get it right.
 
“Elimination of industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers only get us part of the way there, especially when we face major barriers to agricultural trade in the E.U. Agriculture is a significant piece of the global economy and it simply doesn’t make sense to leave it out.
 
“Any deal that eliminates tariffs will need to get congressional approval. Bipartisan members of the Senate and the House of Representatives have voiced their objections to a deal without agriculture, making it unlikely that any such deal would pass Congress.”
 

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