Secretary Talks Trade at Classic
Vilsack discusses importance of creating opportunities for rural America.
Compiled by staff
Published: Mar 8, 2010
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack presented the keynote speech during last week's Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Vilsack addressed USDA efforts to increase exports of agricultural products to help American farmers, ranchers, and workers. The Secretary said increased trade will not only create important income opportunities for producers, but also the off-farm jobs that are so critical for revitalizing rural America.
While USDA has traditionally looked at agricultural trading partners by geographic region, under the new trade strategy outlined by Vilsack, USDA looks at countries based on their position on an agricultural market continuum, which enables tailored strategies to increase exports to each individual market. The continuum goes from fragile markets/food security states, to potential growth markets, to restricted access markets, to rapid growth markets, to developed consumer markets.
For example, in potential growth markets, USDA programs will now emphasize building the institutional and human capacity needed to support increased trade, while in restricted access markets, USDA efforts are designed to remove trade barriers. In rapid growth markets, USDA will now emphasize using a full range of programs to build trade capacity, remove trade barriers and develop new markets for U.S. products.
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Tagged: usda, farm, food security
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