Ambassadors foresee future ag trade opportunities in Vietnam, Philippines

By Editor | March 12, 2024 |

By TAMMIE SLOUP | FarmWeek

A rise in incomes and increased appetite for finer products and animal proteins have opened the door for trade opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region.

The U.S. ambassadors to the Philippines and Vietnam recently joined USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack for a discussion on the trade outlook in those countries. And the future looks bright.

About 60 percent of the world’s population resides in the Indo-Pacific, and the region is expected to be the largest contributor to global growth over the next three decades.

The Philippines’ imports have tripled during the past decade, and the U.S. remains the top single country supplier. The U.S. is also the No. 2 customer for the country, said Ambassador MaryKay

Carlson, adding soybean meal, wheat and dairy are the three top U.S. exports to the Philippines.

Despite tariffs and trade challenges over the past decade, the Philippines is America’s ninth-largest market for food and agricultural-related exports.

“This is a testament to our brand recognition and the industry ties developed over the course of the past half century,” Carlson said during USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum last month. “While opportunities in the Philippine market for U.S. food and agricultural products remain very strong, USDA and industry colleagues are working with our Philippines government counterparts to provide even greater transparency for food and agricultural trade and to remove market constraints, continue to advocate for longer validity periods for import clearance certificates, and for better alignment of tariff rate quotas with actual import demand.”

Ambassador Marc Knapper called 2023 a “watershed year” for the U.S.-Vietnam relationship, which was upgraded in September to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the purposes of peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

The U.S. is the No. 2 exporter to Vietnam, supplying products such as wheat, cotton and dairy products. The U.S. is the largest importer of Vietnam products, including coffee and cashew nuts.

However, more work can be done to further open the Vietnam market to American products, for example, access to U.S. stone fruit.

Both Vietnam and the Philippines have fast-growing, dynamic economies, the ambassadors said.

The Philippines faces challenges in feeding its growing population due to limited land, water and technological issues, making partnership with the U.S. crucial for food security and economic growth.

U.S. farmers can benefit from trade expansion in the Philippines, a familiar market with high brand recognition for American products.

The Philippines’ growing population and economy present opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural exports, with a forecasted increase in consumer numbers and income growth, Carlson said.

“It’s hard to put a cap on what the possibilities are for the U.S.-Philippines market,” she said.

A 7 percent economic growth forecast and rapid expansion of the food sector in Vietnam also is good news for U.S. farmers, Knapper said, adding potential growth opportunities in Vietnam include U.S. cotton, lumber, protein and nuts, fruit and wine.

In 2022, the Biden administration launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new trade bloc made up of the United States and a dozen other countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said efforts are not solely focused on opening new markets, as the U.S. must also enforce existing trade agreements.

Tai said the U.S. “will do everything we can to resolve our concerns” with the dispute over Mexico’s plans to restrict imports of genetically modified corn.

“Mexico’s policies regarding agricultural biotechnology are threatening to cause serious economic harm to U.S. farmers,” Tai said. Last August, the U.S. established a dispute panel under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is expected to be resolved this year.

Tai also stressed the U.S. will “not hesitate to use all available tools to enforce trade commitments” in response to serious concerns about how Canada is implementing its dairy market access commitment under the USMCA.

More than 20 lawmakers, including U.S. House Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, and Mary Miller, R-Oakland, urged “strong support and swift action to bolster U.S. food and agriculture trade opportunities and expand market access for farmers and ranchers in new and key markets” in a letter to Vilsack and Tai.

The lawmakers expressed concern about the recent farm trade deficit trend, which might be partly attributable to the proactive trade policies of economic competitors.

“We are troubled by the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture, Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade, report which projects agricultural exports in fiscal year 2024 at $169.5 billion,” the letter states. “The forecast also indicates an agricultural trade deficit of $30 billion, nearly double the $16.7 billion trade deficit last year, impacting local farm economies and U.S. leadership in global agriculture trade.”

Tai said the “slight trade deficit” in U.S. agricultural trade in 2023 should not be cause for alarm.

“On the contrary, this highlights the current strength of the American economy. The U.S. dollar is extraordinarily strong at the moment, which gives American consumers more buying power on the international market,” she said.

Also, products driving those import numbers up are things like high-value distilled spirits, tropical fruits, coffee and other products not produced in the U.S.

“We are charging full steam ahead,” she said. “We are continuing negotiations with our partners in the Indo-Pacific and Africa. We are laser-focused on deepening our existing relationships and creating new ones — all to get more wins and open more doors for our farmers and producers.

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