TPP: Big Giveaway for Agribusiness, Big Risk for Farmers

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) primarily benefits the agribusiness and food manufacturing companies that buy, process and ship raw agricultural commodities. The controversial deal poses more risks than benefits for American farmers and ranchers. While agribusiness has promoted the TPP as an export bonanza, farmers will receive only a tiny fraction of any export gains. Instead, the modest agricultural export opportunities for farmers would be outweighed by competition from rising food and farm imports. The surge in often low-priced farm imports would worsen today's already precarious farm economy, with falling prices, declining income and rising debt burdens.