Rather than negotiating trade agreements, the United States has concentrated on the enforcement of existing trade agreements. During a Farmers for Free Trade town hall event, Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said the United States is losing business to our competitors. “Over the last ten years, the U.S. progress on these trade agreements has been very modest and the outlook is not promising.” In Bode’s view, the U.S. has been sitting on the sidelines while rival trading nations have expanded trade opportunities. Bode says other countries, including China and the European Union, have expanded trade opportunities through numerous trade agreements over the past ten years. “The U.S. has concluded just four trade agreements, with the most significant being the modernization of NAFTA,” said Bode. “China has negotiated ten (trade agreements), the European Union and Canada each have eight, Japan has seven and the U.S. has just four and arguably just three-and-a-half.” Farmers for Free Trade advocates a shift in trade policy, focusing on opening international markets.
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