UES Submitted

On Wednesday, June 5 NAEGA officially submitted its 2019 Unified Export Strategy (UES) to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The UES sets the framework under which NAEGA will administer its Market Access Program funding in the 2019 program year. The 2019 UES highlights many past successes and planned initiatives NAEGA intends to engage in over the next year, including efforts to promote the electronic exchange of commercial and official trade documents and efforts to address market access barriers through ongoing trade negotiations.

A copy of the 2019 UES can be seen here. For more information, please contact Ryan.

New Orleans FGIS/Industry Workshop

On Wednesday, May 23 NAEGA President and CEO Gary Martin joined NAEGA and NGFA members in the New Orleans area for a workshop with the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS). During the workshop, FGIS personnel updated NAEGA and NGFA members on FGIS financials and tonnage fees, New Orleans Field Office operations, the status of policy issues including soybean phytosanitary issues with China, NAFTA, and the IPPC, and an update on FGIS key issues and programs.

OECD BIAC

This week, IGTC Secretariat Katy Lee attended the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s General Assembly as an private sector invitee. The Secretariat is considering the merits of IGTC participation in the OECD’s Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC). As part of this participation, the IGTC is seeking information on the initiative at BIAC and the OECD that are directly relevant to the IGTC policy agenda and the benefits and costs of IGTC participation. During her travel Katy observed the annual BIAC General Assembly, held bilateral meetings with the BIAC Secretariat and observed the BIAC plenary.

A trip report for this travel will be available soon. 

CFTC Letter

On Thursday, May 31 NAEGA, along with fifteen other agriculture and agribusiness organizations, signed a letter addressed to U.S. Senators James Lankford and Christopher Coons, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services. The letter requests that the Administration’s full budget request of $281.5 million for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) be included in the FY19 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.

In recent years, the CFTC’s responsibilities have expanded significantly, and more funding is required in order to continue its role in helping to safeguard U.S. futures and swaps markets. Without sufficient staffing, the CFTC will be unable to pursue completion of a number of important rules and initiatives that impact price discovery and risk management for U.S. agriculture, including:

• Position limit rule;
• Reg AT/High-frequency trading oversight;
• Scrutiny of block trading transactions;
• Commitments to traders reports;

A copy of the letter can be found here.

U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade

On Friday, May 11 NAEGA President and CEO Gary Martin co-chaired a meeting of the U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade at the American Farm Bureau Federation. During the meeting, the Dialogue welcomed Ambassador Gregg Doud, USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator, to discuss the Administration’s positions on trade and its efforts to expand U.S. market access for agriculture goods. The Dialogue also heard updates from the chairs of the Asia-Pacific and North American Market Working Groups.

IGTC Meetings in Washington, D.C.

This week Katy Lee, Secretariat of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) held a series of successful meeting with stakeholders and grain trade leaders in the Washington, D.C. area. These meetings included:

• Monday, May 14: Briefing for the NAEGA Production Technology Committee on IGTC policy files and recent IGTC bilateral meetings with the International Seed Federation in Nyon, Switzerland.
• Wednesday, May 16: Presentation on IGTC policy files on a webinar hosted by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; and briefings with Washington based embassy representatives, including meetings with the Embassies of Japan and Brazil.
• Thursday, May 17: Meetings with USDA staff to update on IGTC policy files and initiatives and to pursue IGTC actions for common interest with USDA objectives; a briefing of the Value Added Coalition to discuss new plant breeding innovations and IGTC discussions with the ISF; and a briefing for Washington, D.C. based grain trade stakeholders to discuss IGTC policy files and initiatives.
• Friday, May 18: A meeting with the Embassy of Spain to discuss opportunities for the grain trade in West Africa and on the Canary Islands.

A trip report for this travel will be available soon.  

St. Lawrence Seaway Development Authority Presentation

On Wednesday, May 16 NAEGA President and CEO Gary Martin, Director of Operations Ryan Olson and IGTC Secretariat Katy Lee were the keynote presenters on a webinar hosted by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. During the presentation NAEGA and IGTC discussed both organization’s missions, IGTC policy files, grain practices on the Great Lakes including Western Inspection, and U.S. trade policy developments. A copy of the NAEGA/IGTC presentation can be found here.

U.S. CFTC Funding Letter

This week NAEGA joined 14 other organizations in a letter to Congressmen Robert Aderholt and Sanford Bishop, Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies regarding funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The letter requests that the Subcommittee consider the Administration’s full budget request of $281.5 million for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) be included in the FY19 Agriculture Appropriations bill. This funding will support to completion of several rule makings and other initiatives currently underway or planned for U.S. agriculture, including:

• Position Limit Rule – As this very important rule moves toward final status, it is imperative that CFTC has sufficient staff and resources to get the rule right.
• Reg AT/High-Frequency Trading – Commission oversight continues to be needed to help ensure that high-frequency trading doesn’t overwhelm or otherwise adversely impact our agricultural futures contracts.
• Block Trading – Now that block trading has been extended to agricultural contracts, close scrutiny is merited by the Commission to preserve appropriate liquidity and transparency for agricultural futures markets.
• Commitments of Traders Report – Enhancements to provide additional frequency and transparency are needed but will require personnel and technology resources.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC Newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter covers IGTC actions at its bilateral meeting with the ISF in Nyon, Switzerland, a welcome to new IGTC Acting Vice-President Iliana Axiotiades of Coceral, and a call for interest in attending the COP-MOP 9 meetings in Egypt on November 10-22.

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

Letter to U.S. AMS on Advisory Committee

This week NAEGA joined NGFA in a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service regarding the staffing of the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee. The letter expresses the continued belief that the Advisory Committee has value in providing expert advice and assistance to AMS in fulfilling its core mission of ensuring that Official inspections are performed in a reliable, consistent and uninterrupted manner to facilitate the export of U.S. grains and oilseeds to global customers. However, the letter recommends that the committee could be improved by:

• Increasing the number of grain handling experts on the committee
• Strengthening appointments
• Restoring appointment of alternates to the committee
• Enhancing the geographic and industry diversity of members
• Promoting fresh perspectives

A copy of the letter can be found here.