Nebraska Cattlemen welcomes Governor Dave Heineman’s lead in asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the Columbia and South Korea Freed Trade Agreements with the United States to a vote.

“We welcome and we want to reinforce the Governor’s request,” NC Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey said, “by pointing out that products enter the U.S. from Columbia tax free and that a free trade agreement would remove Columbian taxes on U.S. products such as Nebraska beef that exported to that country. This agreement would help Nebraska cattle producers and we are urging Speaker Pelosi to help approve this pro-American agreement.”

Similarly, Nebraska Cattlemen is requesting Pelosi’s help in having the House approve the South Korea Free Trade Agreement. The Nebraska Cattlemen welcomed the announcement by South Korea April 18 to fully reopen its market to U.S. beef exports. The news from South Korea can improve when the U.S. Congress fulfills its promise to ratify the free trade agreement with South Korea because the free trade agreement includes a phase out of South Korean’s 40 percent tariffs on U.S., Kelsey said. 

Restoring trade with South Korea could help Nebraska regain its claim as the No. 1 meat and live animal exporting state. Korea has nearly 30 times as many people as Nebraska in an area one-half the size. In other words, the market is equivalent to the populations of Texas, New York and Minnesota living in an area one-half the size of Nebraska. In addition, South Korean consumer purchasing power is in the top 10 percent in the world. 

The Nebraska Cattlemen association serves as the representative for the state’s beef cattle industry and represents professional cattle breeders, ranchers and feeders, as well as 48 county and local cattlemen’s associations. Its headquarters are in Lincoln and a second office in Alliance serves cattlemen in western Nebraska. This and other Nebraska Cattlemen information is available at www.nebraskacattlemen.org.