WASHINGTON — U.S. secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack will lead a team of 34 agribusinesses and organizations on a trade mission to Peru and Chile March 14-18 in an effort to expand U.S. exports of food and agricultural products with those countries. Trade team members in part include the USA Rice Federation, the U.S. Grains Council, the U.S. Meat Export Federation, the U.S. Soybean Export Council, the Renewable Energy Association and several private grain, livestock, produce, processed food, beverage, sugar, cotton, lumber and ethanol companies. All three countries are members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is aimed at improving market access between the 12 member nations. The United States has had a bi-lateral trade agreement with Chile since 2004 and with Peru since 2009 and has seen significant export growth with both countries during those periods.
