WASHINGTON, March 31, 2016 –Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Berlin and Paris next week to discuss areas of mutual interest between the European and American agricultural sectors. In Berlin, Vilsack will meet with German officials as well as farmers about rural economic development opportunities and to underscore the importance of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). He will then lead the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Meeting of Agriculture Ministers, which is being held in Paris.
While in Berlin April 4-5, Vilsack will meet with German Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt and other government officials, as well as with an organization of rural youth and young farmers. He will discuss how the TTIP agreement, currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union, will benefit both parties' agricultural sectors by stimulating rural economies, streamlining import procedures, providing more food choices for consumers, addressing climate change, and increasing food security.
Vilsack will then travel to Paris, where he will co-chair the OECD agricultural ministerial that takes place April 7-8. He and other agriculture ministers from OECD countries and partner economies around the world will explore how their governments can work together to feed a growing world population, while managing natural resources and dealing with climate change.
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