Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig joined the Iowa Economic Development Authority on a trade trip to Japan. With the partial trade deal negotiated between the countries, it was time for Iowa to visit some customers and showcase our products.
Governor Kim Reynolds talked about the strong relationship between Iowa and Japan. Iowa has a sister state with Japan?s Yamanashi Prefecture for almost 60 years, courtesy of the ?hog lift.? Yamanashi has reciprocated to Iowa when the state went through flooding.
Governor Reynolds talked about the importance of leading a trade trip to Japan.
Reynolds says the economic strength of Japan is what makes them a key trading partner. The Governor sees an opportunity to grow exports for Iowa products to Japan as a result of the new partial trade agreement.
Reynolds talked about the movement of the agreement through Japan?s governing body, the Diet.
Concerns were raised by many in the dairy industry that the deal didn?t go far enough to help the dairy industry. Former Iowa Governor and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said TPP would have had better benefits for dairy, but Secretary Naig reminds us that we only have a ?first phase? in this agreement. There is still room to get changes made further down the line.
Governor Reynolds said the next phases of negotiations will be starting in the next few months, according to the agreement.
While there have been no specific purchases and deals made on this trip, Governor Reynolds and Secretary Naig both say this is about keeping the relationship between Iowa and Japan strong. The base is there to build on.
