A proposed free trade agreement between the United States and Australia should boost exports of US soda ash, most of which is produced in Wyoming, said Craig Thomas, one of the state“s two Republican…
A proposed free trade agreement between the United States and Australia should boost exports of US soda ash, most of which is produced in Wyoming, said Craig Thomas, one of the state“s two Republican Senators. If passed, the accord should help the US soda ash industry, the largest in the world, which has seen a decline in exports over the past few years. Legislators and industry experts believe higher exports are essential to maintaining US soda ash industry employment and production. More than 90% of the soda ash produced in the United States and just under 40% of the world“s supply of natural soda ash comes from Sweetwater County in southwest Wyoming. Senator Thomas offered measured support for the free trade agreement on 15 June 2004, with his reservations centering on agricultural issues. Thomas is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which held a hearing on the agreement on 15 June 2004 in Washington DC. The full Senate must approve the agreement. Thomas predicted the agreement would pass “because it“s basically a good agreement,”. Wyoming mines yield 15 million tons of trona a year, from which 8 million to 10 million tons of soda ash are produced. The industry is the largest employer in Sweetwater and Uinta counties in southwest Wyoming. Australia has become a major market for soda ash because of higher wine production and increasing demand for glass bottles. The proposed free trade agreement comes after US trade negotiators successfully reached a deal in January 2004 that eliminated a 5% import tariff on US soda ash exported to Australia. Thomas said the agreement and other bilateral agreements are only temporary measures to improve trade until a larger, multilateral trade agreement can be reached.