NFU president applauds president’s efforts on climate change, criticizes TPP

Following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson applauded the President’s inclusion of the issue of climate change, which has affected farming and ranching operations throughout the country.

“We are greatly appreciative of the administration’s focus on climate change,” Johnson said. “Their efforts to help mitigate climate change will give family farmers and ranchers a better shot at ensuring global food security. Family farmers and ranchers can employ numerous practices that reduce or sequester carbon when given the correct incentives.”

Johnson was not complimentary on all of the Obama Administration’s initiatives, however, saying that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would not create jobs due to currency manipulation among some of the nations included in the deal. Johnson argued that some countries have used this practice to make American products non-competitive on the global market, and that it is partly responsible for the country’s $508 billion trade deficit.

“Like many of the trade deals that proceeded it, the TPP fails to provide effective enforcement tools to prevent competitors from manipulating their currencies and thereby bypassing trade rules,” Johnson said. “Despite the President’s promises, the U.S. will be on the losing side of the trade ledger once again if we don’t tackle currency manipulation.”