WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) urged the top U.S. trade negotiator to negotiate a comprehensive and acceptable agreement with Japan that will increase market access for all agricultural products as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
In a letter to United States Trade Representative Michael Froman sent on Friday to coincide with key talks over the weekend, the senators expressed concern that Japan has not yet made a comprehensive offer on agricultural talks that would increase access for U.S. agricultural products in Japan. The senators said the lack of a comprehensive agreement would undermine the Administration’s “goal of significantly increasing market access for U.S. agricultural products in TPP party countries.”
In addition to Grassley and Bennet, the senators signing the letter are Mark Pryor, Joe Donnelly, Kay Hagan, Mark Udall, Pat Roberts, John Cornyn, James Inhofe, Mark Kirk, John Thune, Mike Johanns, John Boozman, Roy Blunt, Rob Portman, Deb Fischer, Richard Burr and Jerry Moran.
A signed copy of the letter is available here.