Trade pact vital to Iowa ag

By Bill Northey

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I recently had the opportunity to travel to South Korea and China on a trade promotion trip to reach out to key customers of Iowa products in two countries that are vital trading partners with Iowa. The trip was led by Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and included a wide variety of other Iowa leaders from government, agriculture and business.

Exports are vital to the health of Iowa's economy and we have seen tremendous growth in trade the last few years. In 2010, Iowa exported more than $1 billion worth of pork products for the first time and continues to see growing international demand for the corn, soybeans, beef and other agricultural goods produced here in our state.

Many Iowa jobs, both on the farm and in town, can be attributed directly to exports. China, South Korea and we have reason to believe that increasing our exports to these countries will produce even more jobs and new opportunities for Iowans.

South Korea is a rapidly developing country that has become a key trading partner for Iowa agriculture. With a population close to 50 million people and only 4 million acres of land that can be used for farming, as compared to Iowa which has 30 million acres of farmland and only 3 million people, they need the agricultural products raised here in Iowa.

During our trip, we were in Seoul, South Korea's capitol, and met with key government leaders as well as buyers of our agricultural products. These meetings again highlighted the importance of passing the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement that has already been negotiated but not yet submitted by the president to Congress for passage.

This agreement has the potential to be a huge benefit to Iowa agriculture. Currently, only about $14 million in U.S. agricultural goods enter Korea duty-free. Once the agreement is implemented, it would immediately increase that number to $3 billion. As a result, there is great potential for U.S. exports to Korea to increase rapidly.

The group then traveled to China, where we visited four cities in the northeast part of the country to promote Iowa as a potential trade partner.

China is an amazing country in terms of size and scope. With a population of 1.3 billion, its ability to impact the market for agricultural products is tremendous.

Currently, China imports one out of every four soybeans produced in the United States, which includes those produced on more than 9 million acres in Iowa.

In China, our group first traveled to Hebei, Iowa's sister state and the province that completely surrounds Beijing, and then traveled on to the cities of Shenyang and Harbin before ending up in Beijing. During these stops, we met with businesses and government officials to strengthen the partnerships that already exist between Iowa and China, promote the increase of Iowa exports and encourage investments in Iowa.

We also visited the Chinese facilities of Pioneer Hi-Bred and Vermeer Corporation. We saw the investment being made by these Iowa companies and learned more about how they are expanding into these rapidly growing markets.

Throughout our trip, we received a very positive response and a number of groups we met with expressed interest in making a return trip to Iowa in the near future so that we can continue the dialogue about how to build on our existing trade relationships.

As the world becomes more interconnected and the importance of trade continues to grow, Iowa's strong agricultural base and top-notch manufacturing goods leaves our state well positioned to benefit greatly from the relationship cultivated during this trip.

Bill Northey, a fourth-generation corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, is serving his second term as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. To learn more: www.IowaAgriculture.gov. Comments: www.agriculture.state.ia.us/emailContact/contactMe.asp?Staff.ID=87