President Trump has signed an executive order to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Industry experts say that's good for Ohio manufacturing but a missed opportunity for Ohio farmers.
Ohio's agriculture exports—grains like soy beans, wheat and corn—account for $4.5 billion and 34,000 jobs.
In an interview on All Sides With Ann Fisher Wednesday, Jack Irvin from the Ohio Farmer Bureau said the Partnership would have brought Ohio farmers more lucrative trade opportunities by lowering tariffs with countries like Japan.
"There was some estimation that it could add another $100 million in terms of ag-exports, specifically to Ohio," Irvin said. "You know, maybe another 1,000 jobs on top of that."
Tim Burga, of the Ohio AFL-CIO, applauded Trump's choice to leave the TPP.
Burga says trade deals like NAFTA were written to empower multi-national corporations and their shareholders.
"But it's not translating into worker power or wage growth here or abroad," Bruga says.
Burga says Ohio had accumulated a multi-billion dollar import-export trade deficit because of deals like NAFTA. Ohio manufacturers, he says, need a new trade model that deters currency manipulation, protects workers, and upholds environmental standards and human rights.
