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Today President-elect Barack Obama named former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk to be the next ambassador for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Leading up to the election, Obama trade comments implying protectionism concerned many players in agriculture. However, the National Pork Producers Council welcomed the nomination and called Kirk "pro-trade."
"During his political career Ron Kirk has worked with both sides of the political aisle and was known as a coalition builder, attributes that will serve him well at USTR," said NPPC President Bryan Black, a pork producer from Canal Winchester, Ohio. "NPPC looks forward to working with Ambassador Kirk on many important pork trade issues, and we will continue to promote an aggressive trade agenda in Washington."
Ken Hobbie, president of the U.S. Grains Council said, "Mr. Kirk has been a proponent of a liberalized trade environment evident by his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement."
NPPC hopes to work closely with Kirk to keep open to U.S. pork exports important markets such as China, Mexico, Russia and Taiwan. The organization also looks forward to a successful conclusion to the World Trade Organization's Doha Round negotiations. NPPC's biggest objective in those multilateral trade talks is significant new market access for U.S. pork in the European Union and in Japan.
NPPC also will be urging the new USTR ambassador to press for congressional action on pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. The Korean agreement alone will raise live hog prices by more than $10 per animal when fully implemented.
Kirk's nomination is expected to be considered by the U.S. Senate when the 111th Congress convenes in January.
Policy is one of the most important issues facing farmers today, but often the most difficult to digest. Jacqui Fatka has a passion to decode the often difficult world of agricultural policy into terms understandable for today's ag players.
Fatka joined the Farm Progress team as E-Content Editor in August 2003 after graduating from Iowa State University. Prior to full-time employment with Farm Progress, she interned at Wallaces Farmer magazine, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's press office and the Iowa Pork Producers Association and freelanced for National Hog Farmer. She also worked as a public relations consultant with Iowa Industries for the Future, an effort to bring together major players in the biorenewables industry.
Currently Fatka is a staff editor at a sister publication, Feedstuffs. For Farm Futures she regularly tells the story of ongoing agricultural policy changes. Her byline can also be found on management profiles.
Fatka grew up on a grain and livestock farm near Atlantic, Iowa. She currently lives in central Ohio with her husband Eric.
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