The Trump administration signed a trade deal with Japan Monday that could provide some relief to North Carolina farmers currently hurting as a result of the ongoing international trade dispute.

Among other things, the deal calls for reducing tariffs on pork - a key North Carolina product.

North Carolina leaders in attendance at the White House signing ceremony, including the lieutenant governor, said the agreement could give a boost to the Tar Heel State. 

“This is a really big deal, but especially for our pork and poultry producers, some frozen food products as well,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.

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The new deal comes as the ongoing trade fight between the United States and other nations has left the state’s farmers in a financial pinch. Many are closely watching their bottom line.

“We’re not making the kind of sustainable money off our crops to keep [the farm] going,” said Bert Pitt in a recent interview. Pitt grows cotton on his farm in Edgecombe County.

Japan has historically been a top trading partner of North Carolina, though that relationship has evolved in recent years in part as a result of maneuvers in the nation's capital.

More than two years ago, President Donald Trump removed the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. That pact between the U.S. and several Asian-Pacific countries was negotiated by the Obama White House.

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Is the new deal any better than TPP for North Carolina agriculture? 

NC Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten said on balance, the new deal is “about the same” as that Obama-era pact.

“A reduction of tariffs, giving us a preferred rate with the Japanese,” he said. "I don’t think it’s any better. Certainly, it’s no worse.”

While the Japan deal may now be signed, the ongoing trade dispute with China continues to be a source of a lot of pain for North Carolina agriculture.

Negotiations between the White House and China continue this week, with the U.S. Trade Representative and Treasury Secretary set to meet with a delegation from the country starting Thursday. It is unclear whether a deal with China will be reached any time soon.