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Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Announced

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal announced this week could mean more exports from the Midwest. As Harvest Public Media’s Kristofor Husted reports, the agreement could be worth billions for U.S. farmers.

The TPP is expected to give U.S. farmers easier access to markets in countries like Japan and Australia by reducing tariffs on products like beef and rice.

The details of the agreement haven’t been released yet, but David Salmonsen of the American Farm Bureau says he’s most eager to see what was worked out for U.S. dairy — one of the more contentious commodities debated during negotiations.

“Here you had multiple countries, the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia, all looking to either get access or defend against granting too much access dealing with dairy products," he says.

Even with restrictions in place, countries covered under the trade deal already import more than 60 billion dollars of U.S. farm products.

Kristofor Husted is a senior reporter at KBIA in Columbia, Mo. Previously Husted reported for NPR’s Science Desk in Washington and Harvest Public Media. Husted was a 2013 fellow with the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources and a 2015 fellow for the Institute for Journalism and Justice. He’s won regional and national Edward R. Murrow, PRNDI and Sigma Delta Chi awards. Husted also is an instructor at the Missouri School of Journalism. He received a B.S. in cell biology from UC Davis and an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University.