Letter on Philippine Biosafety Permits

On Friday, March 2 NAEGA joined the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) in a letter to the Philippine Department of Agriculture on biotechnology reviews and approvals. The letter notes that applications for agricultural biotech products are taking considerably longer than the prescribed timeline under the Joint Department Circular (JDC). The letter calls for  the Department to adhere to the JDC timelines for improved timing, predictability and transparency for biotech-enhanced agricultural products in order to ensure the cost efficiency and sustainability of production and trade of products imported into the Philippines.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC Newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter includes a report on the WTO MRL workshop in Geneva, an update on ePhytos, and a preview of upcoming IGTC events in London and Rome this Spring.

For more details, read the IGTC Newsletter here or visit the IGTC website at www.igtcglobal.org.

Letter on West Coast Labor Negotiations

On Friday, March 2 NAEGA joined 115 state and federal trade association in a letter to the International Longshoreman’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance encouraging both parties to return to the table as soon as possible and resume negotiations on a labor contract for West Coast ports. The letter notes that a contract extension will provide supply chain stakeholders with the certainty they need for their operations and help avoid supply chain disruptions and delays that arose out of previous contract negotiations. When talks are put on hold it causes great uncertainty, shifts in logistical plans and even economic damage.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Mississippi River Barge Docs Digitization

The NAEGA Board of Directors has under consideration a report on the NAEGA/NGFA Barge Docs Digitization Workshop provided by Communique, LLC. The Workshop  took place on Friday, February 16 in New Orleans, LA and brought together stakeholders from throughout the Mississippi River barge trade, including grain handlers, shippers, barge line operators and service providers. The report outlines next steps needed to pursue digital solutions for documentation.  The NAEGA Board of Directors will address next steps at its upcoming meeting in Scottsdale, AZ on March 19.

US Soybean and Sorghum Exports to China

Beginning in late December 2017 NAEGA Executive Committee and Board of Directors has been extensively engaged in consultation and coordination and has initiated several new actions and delayed or put aside some activity we have discussed previously to address Chinese policies related to grains, oilseeds and other products.  In doing so, NAEGA is working to provide for marketability and competition while defending value, quality and safety of the commodities traded by its Members. Our focus has been, and continues to be, to provide for regulatory and commercial best practices within the parameters of sound science, legal compliance and international convention to provide for the least trade distortion and best environment for all stakeholders. 

Regarding the recent action by USDA to institute an additional declaration conveying Foreign Material percentage for U.S. export shipments of soybeans to China on the phyto-sanitary certificate issued by its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), we continue to be concerned with the resulting and ongoing lack of understanding and predictability on how Chinese authorities will treat imports of U.S. soybeans.  We believe the circumstances result in new and substantial inappropriate disadvantages to U.S. origin soybeans and risk setting bad precedence of other grains and oilseeds. NAEGA is taking a number of actions to engage directly with APHIS and other parts of U.S. government.  For instance, NAEGA has been aggressively communicating our concerns and possible solutions as part of the USDA Systems Approach on Weed Seeds.  Recently USDA provided more details in this effort to help educate farmers, grain handlers and exporters on weed seed management techniques. The systems approach was developed in response to U.S. efforts to reduce the presence of weed seeds in soybean shipments to China. Over the past three months, NAEGA has been working closely with the USDA as part of the U.S. Grain and Oilseed Strategic Working Group to provide input into the systems approach. The approach is outlined here and will be rolled out as an educational tool at USDA attended events throughout the country.

NAEGA is also supporting work by the National Sorghum Producers and the U.S. Grains Council, in coordination with several members, to respond to the self-initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigation by China’s Ministry of Commerce into U.S. Sorghum exports to China.

NAEGA members interested in providing input or being engaged in this work should contact us immediately. Both matters will be the subject of NAEGA consideration at our meetings on March 19 in Scottsdale, AZ.