New TPP deal puts U.S. wheat farmers at tariff disadvantage

A new Trans-Pacific Partnership deal would put U.S. wheat farmers at a $200 million disadvantage each year, according to the U.S. Wheat Associates and National Association of Wheat Growers, in a joint statement.Japan imports an average of 3.1 million metric tons of U.S. wheat every year, according to U.S. Wheat and the National Association of Wheat Growers. That was about 49 percent of Japan’s food wheat imports in 2016, according to the USDA. Canada supplied 34 percent and Australia 17 percent that year.After full implementation of the new TPP, Japan’s import tariffs on Canadian and Australian wheat will drop by about $65 per ton while the tariff on U.S. wheat will remain.