Trump Will Start to Exit From TPP on First Day as President

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will follow through on campaign promises to withdraw the U.S. from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade pact that is still supported by much of the agriculture sector.

Trump, in a video statement, said he asked his transition team to come up with a list of executive actions to be ready for his first day in office. At the top of that list is pulling the U.S. out of the TPP.

"On trade, I am going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country," Trump said. "Instead, we will negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores."

The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association are just two of many farm groups who have been outspoken about their support for TPP because of the potential new revenue and market share it could provide in countries like Japan and Vietnam.

Colin Woodall, NCBA vice president for government affairs, told Agri-Pulse recently that the group is still lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill to vote on TPP ratification before December, but hasn't had any luck so far.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, in an interview with Agri-Pulse this week, said it doesn't look like there will be a vote. When asked what would happen if the U.S. pulled out of TPP, Froman said the future was unclear.

"We're breaking new ground here," he said. "We don't know. It's possible the other countries will find a way to move on without us with the hope that we would join sometime in the future. It's possible they'll pursue other trade agreements."

Written by Bill Tomson for Agri-Pulse Communications.