Trade Talk at AFBF Annual Meeting

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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman held an hour-long town hall meeting Sunday at the AFBF annual meeting in San Diego, Calif.

 

Questions ranged from the potential of trade with Cuba to tax reform to what USDA could do to sway EPA to sack the waters of the U.S. rule.

 

The secretary also said agriculture "has a job to do" in convincing people that trade is positive. Too many people believe trade costs jobs, he said. "The facts are that trade creates jobs," he said. "The facts are that we have seen a significant expansion of agricultural opportunities because of free trade agreements, but in the minds of a lot of Americans, they equate plant closings and plants moving to other countries with free trade. So we have got to do a better job of showing that trade does create jobs."