Economic Policy Analyst with the Truth About Trade and Technology Ross Korves believes there are four key reasons U.S. agricultural groups should pay attention to the Trans-Pacific Partnership FTA talks. For one thing – though Korves says U.S. agriculture doesn’t have a lot to gain directly from the FTA immediately – he says it could take five to 10 years for another opportunity to develop if these talks don’t move forward. Second – he says there is potential to develop compatible regulatory systems. A standard set of regulations for this agreement based on sound science – Korves says – could be used as a template for other trade agreements. Then there’s the fact that the countries currently part of the talks have reached consensus on a broad outline of a high standards agreement. To be “high standards” – Korves says the agreement would need to be comprehensive and cover all industries and all goods and services within industries. He says too many FTAs have exempted certain politically sensitive ag products – like poultry and dairy for Canada in NAFTA. Finally – if labor and environmental issues could be resolved within the agreement – they too could become a template for other agreements. Korves says any agreement that would meet the diverse needs of the nine countries involved may have wide applicability to other free trade deals.