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Kettler: US, Japan agreement is good for farmers

The US and Japan signed a trade agreement this week and the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture says it will help level the playing field for US farmers.

Bruce Kettler attended the signing ceremony at the White House.

“We rely upon and want really good customers in the US and I think it also says from Japan’s perspective that the US has always been a good and reliable supplier of quality products and that, to me, is the real importance of this agreement to be able to show we can do that,” he says.

He tells Brownfield Japan is a critical trading partner for Indiana as the country is the state’s third largest export market.

“Of course corn and soybeans will be impacted, and we want Hoosier farmers to know that continues to be a good market,” he says. “You start to look at that list of products and we know, and we can see where it’s really going to help a lot of Hoosier farmers and lot of sectors of our agriculture in the state of Indiana.”

Kettler says he is hopeful the success of the agreement will lead to other trade deals, particularly the US Mexico Canada Agreement.

“I would say now that we got this Japan agreement, maybe that’s one more reason to write another letter, or make another phone call (to legislators) to say the ratification of the USMCA would provide the stability our farmers need,” he says.

US and Japanese leaders signed two separate trade agreements dealing with agriculture and digital trade on Monday.  

Audio: Bruce Kettler, Indiana State Department of Agriculture