The United States has free trade agreements with 20 countries around the world that expand export opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural producers. To help exporters obtain information about tariff reductions resulting from these FTAs, the Foreign Agricultural Service recently launched the Agricultural Tariff Tracker.
“The tracker was developed in response to requests from the agricultural export community for more detailed information about export opportunities resulting from FTAs,” said Jeff Jones, a senior policy advisor with FAS. “Though we’ve seen significant expansion in U.S. agricultural exports as a result of our trade agreements, there will be even more opportunities for U.S. agricultural exporters in the future as tariffs continue to fall throughout implementation,” he said. “Providing more information in a user-friendly format will allow exporters to maximize the potential of these agreements.”
The online tool allows agricultural exporters and importers to search for product tariffs, tariff-rate quotas and information on safeguards, which countries use to protect against import surges. The tracker also allows users to download and save search results to conduct further analysis.
The Agricultural Tariff Tracker will also help exporters identify new opportunities. The system simplifies the search for product tariffs so that exporters can make more informed decisions about the opportunities each FTA may have for their companies.
Currently, the tracker has information for trade agreements with 10 FTA partners. Information for other FTA partners will be uploaded by the end of the year, and new tariff codes will be uploaded as they become available.
The tracker complements the Department of Commerce’s FTA Tariff Tool, which provides tariff information for industrial and textile products. The tracker supports President Obama’s National Export Initiative to revitalize efforts to promote American exports abroad.
For more information about free trade agreements and opportunities for agricultural producers, visit www.fas.usda.gov.