News

U.S.-Japan Trade Negotiations Letter

On April 22 NAEGA joined 88 other food and agriculture organizations in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding negotiation and implementation of a U.S.-Japan trade agreement. The letter emphasizes that any agreement with Japan must: include market access provisions that at least equal the terms of the CPTPP and the EU-Japan EPA in the first stage of implementation, and where possible build upon those precedents;  accelerate phase-in of tariff cuts to ensure the U.S. is not facing a disadvantage on tariff or TRQ quantity access compared to other countries; and address non-tariff barriers, such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, biotechnology, TRQ administration, and geographical indications.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Comments on Egypt Quarantine Measures

On Friday, April 19 NAEGA submitted comments to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regarding Egypt’s notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) of draft rules governing plant quarantine regulations.

In the comments, NAEGA recommends that USDA FAS encourage the U.S. government place internal consideration on the following perspectives of NAEGA and its members:

  1. We have been honored to be a consistent, competitive and reliable supplier of high quality, safe and affordable supplies of grains and oilseeds to provide for Egypt’s needs
  2. We greatly respect and wish to support the Government of Egypt’s role in providing for safe, reliable and affordable supplies of food.
  3. We recognize and support the protection of plant and animal agriculture that is a critical responsibility of the entire supply chain as well as the GofE .
  4. We seek any opportunity, including working to address concerns and opportunities related to EGY 90 in order to continue to our successful trade and investment relationship and to work with GofE on efforts to provide for safe and most efficient access to supplies of wheat, corn, soybeans and other grains for import. One way to do that is to establish regular public-private dialogue to address import policy related to plant health concerns.
  5. We know that industry experience and scientific analysis can provide for a consultative partnership that is supportive of the GofE efforts to provide for food security, affordability and the management of plant health risks by applying sound science and best practices that are all based on and compliant with internationally accepted industry protocols and the International Phytosanitary Measures established by the International Plant Protection Convention.

A copy of the full comments can be found here.

CGC Convention

A trip report is now available for Gary’s travel to Montreal, Quebec in March 2019. While in Montreal, Gary attended the 2019 Canada Crops Convention at the Le Westin Montreal. This year’s convention, hosted jointly by the Canada Grains Council and the Canola Council of Canada, featured opportunities to network, coordinate and improve international dialogue with grain trade leaders. The convention focused on advancements and trends in agriculture production and trade provided for market education and intelligence gathering opportunities with NAEGA members and other stakeholders.

A copy of Gary’s trip report can be found here.

USMCA USITC Report

On Thursday, April 18, 2019 the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released its Congressionally mandated report on the likely impact of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the U.S. economy. The report estimated that the USMCA would raise U.S. real GDP by $68.2 billion (0.35 percent) and U.S. employment by 176,000 jobs (0.12 percent) over a six year period. In addition, U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico would increase by $19.1 billion (5.9 percent) and $14.2 billion (6.7 percent), respectively. U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico would increase by $19.1 billion (4.8 percent) and $12.4 billion (3.8 percent), respectively. Overall, the agreement would likely have a positive impact on all broad industry sectors within the U.S. economy.

A copy of the report can be found here.