Now that the Trump administration has officially informed Congress that it intends to begin negotiations with Japan on a free trade agreement, anticipation is growing for a new deal that’s expected to significantly boost U.S. exports of beef, dairy, pork, rice and other commodities.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has an alternate plan to end the U.S. trade war with China and the Trans-Pacific Partnership is key to its success, the cabinet member and former Georgia governor told Agri-Pulse in an interview.

The leaders of Japan and the other 10 remaining countries in the renamed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) signed off on the sweeping trade pact last Thursday and many in the U.S. ag sector are worried they’ll suffer from being left out.

When Japan was asked if it wanted fries to go with recent free trade agreements, it said yes. Unfortunately for U.S. potato farmers and processors, those fries will come mostly from Canadian and Belgian spuds.