News

Upcoming NAEGA Events in Portland, OR – October 19-20

NAEGA is excited to announce a series of exciting events in Portland, Oregon from October 18-20. Please see below for an official schedule and to register:

Date / Location Time Function
Wednesday 10 / 19
Rainier Room

21st Floor of the Wells Fargo Building at 1300 SW 5th Ave.

Portland, Oregon

8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

 

 

1:30 – 4:30 PM

NAEGA Board of Directors Meeting – Register Here

 

Contracts Committee Meeting – Register Here

TBD 6:00 – 9:00 PM NAEGA Dinner
Thursday 10 /20
Tacoma, Wash.

Tour: TEMCO

Lunch: Stanley & Seafort’s

115 E 34th St.

Tacoma, Washington

 

8:00 AM– 1:00 PM

 

 

Hosting AQSIQ and APHIS Officials

Elevator Tour

Lunch

 

Portland Oregon MEX Conference Room

200 SW Market St.

Portland, Oregon

12:00 – 5:00 PM

 

 

Contracts and Best Practices Seminar – Register Here

 

 

NAFTA TWG Meetings

NAEGA President and CEO Gary Martin will travel to Quebec City, Canada on October 25 and 26 to participate in a meeting of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) Technical Working Group (TWG) on Pesticides. During the meeting Gary will present before the TWG on the business realities of trading grain and the impacts that non-tariff barriers like missing or non-harmonized minimum residue limits (MRLs) can pose. The NAFTA TWG on Pesticides is mulitalteral working group comprised of the governments of Mexico, Canada and the United States that seeks to address pesticide issues that arise from the liberalization of trade between the three countries under the NAFTA agreement.

A copy of Gary’s presentation and a notice to post for this upcoming travel will be available soon. For more information please contact Gary or Ryan.

ISF Mid-year Meeting

IGTC/NAEGA Science Advisor Marcel Bruins will travel to Bordeaux, France on October 16-17 to participate in the International Seed Federation’s (ISF) mid-year meeting. Throughout the past year the IGTC has been working closely with the ISF to coordinate on global acceptance and regulation of new plant breeding innovations. Marcel will continue with this continued engagement during this month’s ISF meeting.

A notice to post for this travel will be available soon. For more information please contact Gary or Ryan.

Hanjin Bankruptcy Letter

On September 20, 2016 NAEGA joined a multi-industry letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker from organizations representing manufacturers, farmers and agribusiness wholesalers, retailers, importers, exporters, distributors and transportation and logistics providers regarding the recent decision by the Hanjin Shipping Company to seek bankruptcy protection. The recent bankruptcy filing by Hanjin Shipping has already begun to disrupt supply chains and freight shipments leading up to the busiest shipping time of the year. U.S. industry relies on a high level of predictability and efficiency in global supply chains. Seizure of Hanjin assets and shipper’s goods by Hanjin creditors is increasing anxiety among those that rely on these supply chains. In addition, critical cargoes remain stranded overseas as freight prices continue to rise. This letter to Secretary Pritzker calls for continued engagement with the South Korean government regarding these events in order to secure an economically beneficial resolution that will allow cargo to once again flow efficiently through the supply chain.

A copy of the letter can be found here. For more information, please contact Gary or Ryan.

Decree 177 Letter

The USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service has finalized the drafting of a letter and list of U.S. grain export facilities for submission to AQSIQ officials regarding U.S. industry compliance with Decree 177. The letter and facility list was drafted in close coordination with U.S. government agencies and industry through the Decree 177 Working Group, of which NAEGA is a member. The list of U.S. export grain facilities is the U.S. Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) publicly available list of grain export facilities compiled by GIPSA on a yearly basis. Registration on this list is required by U.S. law for all U.S. export grain facilities that export more than 15,000 metric tons of grain per year.

In addition to the submission of this list, FAS has requested consultations with AQSIQ by a team of U.S. experts on the grain trade, including the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), GIPSA, FAS and U.S. grain industry representatives. Opening up of this dialog will further understanding of the requirements of Decree 177 on the U.S. grain export system.

Submission of the facility list and request for consultations with AQSIQ are the first steps in broadening industry and U.S. government’s understanding AQSIQ’s requirements under Decree 177 in order to ensure U.S. industry compliance.

A copy of the letter and facility list can be found here and here. For more information about Decree 177 and the efforts of the working group please visit the members only section of the NAEGA website, www.naega.org, or contact Gary or Ryan.

NAEGA-APPAMEX Forum

NAEGA Director of Operations Ryan Olson and IGTC Acting Secretariat Katy Lee traveled to Cancun, Mexico on October 5-8 to present before and participate in the 23rd Annual NAEGA-APPAMEX at the Iberostar Hotel. At the forum Ryan and Katy hosted a, Exclusive Section on Bulk Grain Trade Issues, including an “Update on Commercial and Official Policies and Practices.” During the Exclusive Section Ryan presented before Forum attendees on “The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Regulatory Coherence and Transparency.” Following Ryan’s presentation, Katy briefed the Forum on IGTC policy files and activities, including electronic documentation, the World Bank’s Enabling the Business of Agriculture Project, plant breeding technologies, and recent IPPC ISPM for grain negotiations. In addition to these presentations, Ryan and Katy heard and gathered information on a number of multilateral and bilateral trade issues facing the North American and global marketplaces, including an update from SENASICA on soil inspections and a speech by SAGARPA Secretary José Eduardo Calzada.

On Friday, October 7, to close out the forum, NAEGA also sponsored the Joint National Encounter of Pork Producers and NAEGA-APPAMEX Forum Grand Closing Dinner, which featured over 350 attendees.

A copy of the agenda for the NAEGA-APPAMEX Forum can be found here. A trip report for this MAP travel will soon be available. For more information, please contact Ryan or Katy.

IGTC Secretariat Visit to Washington, D.C.

IGTC Acting Secretariat Katy Lee was in Washington, D.C. this week for a series of meetings and briefings ahead of her travel the NAEGA-APPAMEX Forum. During her visit in Katy led discussions and meetings with D.C. based IGTC members and corporate stakeholders. In addition, Katy continued to advance IGTC policy files through meeting with D.C. based institutions. During her stay, Katy’s agenda included:

  • IGTC Member and Corporate Stakeholder briefing for D.C. staff
  • Meeting with Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Director-General Dr. Victor Villalobos.
  • Meeting with the World Bank regarding continued IGTC participation in the “Enabling the Business of Agriculture” report.
  • Meeting with the East African Grains Council on IGTC activities.

A trip report for these meeting and continued travel and participation by Katy in the NAEGA-APPAMEX Forum will be available soon. For more information, please contact Katy at secretariat@igtcglobal.org.

Joint Statement to GIPSA

On September 23 the Joint NAEGA-NGFA Grades and Inspections/Grains, Grades and Weights Committee submitted a joint statement to the Grain Inspectors, Packers and Stockyards Association regarding the delegated state status of the State of Wisconsin. States delegated by (GIPSA) to preform weighing and inspection services are required to meet certain criteria including maintaining adequate facilities and qualified personnel; rotating personnel; implementing training requirements and diligently using of user fees. In addition, these requirements are to be reviewed through a notice-and-comment review every five years. The joint statement confirms NAEGA and NGFA’s belief that the State of Wisconsin is meeting its obligation to remain a delegated state under GIPSA rules.

A copy of the letter can be found here. For more information, please contact Ryan or Gary.

IGTC Newsletter

The newest edition of the IGTC Newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter includes an update on IGTC participation in the IPPC ISPM Expert Working Group in Melbourne, information on the ongoing ratification of the Nagoya Protocol and an invitation to learn more about the IGTC General Assembly in Geneva on November 8. A copy of the newsletter can be found on the IGTC intranet at www.igtcglobal.org or by clicking here.

President Obama Nominate Cuban Ambassador

President Obama has nominated the highest ranking U.S. Diplomat in Cuba as the first U.S. Ambassador in more than a half century following increased efforts over the past two years to improve diplomatic and business ties with the island nation. Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the U.S. charge d’affairs and head of the U.S. mission in Havana since 2014, will now seek confirmation before the Senate, a body that still has deep reservations about the administration’s Cuba policy.

A copy of President Obama’s press release can be found here. To learn more about NAEGA’s involvement in promoting increased commercial ties with Cuba through the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba (USACC), please click here.