Member Invoices and Annual Meeting Notification

NAEGA has completed its annual invoicing for membership dues and export volume fees. On Friday, January 12, each member representative should have received an email with a membership invoice and an annual member meeting notification. Member representatives will also receive an invoice and meeting notification via Fedex. All NAEGA member dues and export volume fees are due by February 15, 2018.  

Letter on Section 199A of Tax Law

NAEGA is consulting with and supporting the actions of the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) regarding issues raised with Section 199A of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  Concern has been raised by industry participants about how the new Section 199A will influence grain marketing decisions. On January 11, NGFA and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) issued a joint statement about these developments, which can be read here. According to the statement, NGFA and NCFC “are working intensively with stakeholders, including cooperatives, noncooperative-owned agribusinesses and Senate offices, including Senators Hoeven, Thune and Roberts. The goal of these discussions is to arrive at an equitable solution that preserves the benefits that cooperatives and their farmer patrons previously enjoyed under Section 199 of the tax code, while addressing any unforeseen impacts on producers’ marketing decisions.

IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC Newsletter is now available! The newsletter includes information about the IGTC’s involvement at a gene editing workshop in Beijing, the Joint Statement signed by government ministers at WTO MC11, and Dr. Marcel Bruins’ departure from IGTC.

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

DBTG and AAPA Trip Report

A trip report is now available for Ryan’s travel to Punta del Este, Uruguay. In Punta del Este, Ryan participated in the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Latin America Ports Congress and the Dry Bulk Terminal Group’s (DBTG) Fall Operational and Technical Meeting. While attending these meetings Ryan worked to improve the commercial and official environment for GRNOS logistics and gathered information assessing competitor origin positioning. Ryan also participated in the DBTG’s Executive Committee meeting, on which he sits as an advisor.

A copy of the trip report can be read here.

IGTC General Assembly Trip Report

A trip report is now available for Katy’s travel to Arlington, VA to lead and participate in the IGTC General Assembly and related outreach events. In Arlington, Katy executed all IGTC activities and events, including a General Assembly Meeting which saw the addition of a new member association, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA); outreach meetings with Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), the Canadian Embassy and the World Bank; an IGTC Management Council breakfast; and meetings with NAEGA membership, IGTC Management Council members, corporate stakeholders, and international partners.

A copy of the trip report can be read here.

U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade

On Tuesday, December 19, 2017 Gary and Ryan participated in a meeting of the U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade at King and Spalding in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, Dialogue participants received a briefing on U.S. trade policy development, including NAFTA and KORUS, from Sharon Bomer-Lauritsen, Assistant USTR, and other USTR staff.

Please contact Ryan if you have any questions.

Letter from Saskatchewan Minister of Ag

On January 3, 2018 NAEGA received a letter from Lyle Stewart, Minister of Agriculture for Saskatchewan to thank him for attending the 2017 Tri-National Agricultural Accord and supporting NAFTA modernization efforts. The letter also provided a requested update on new Canada rail legislation.

You can read the letter from Minister Stewart here.

APHIS Directive on Soybean Shipments to China

The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is implementing a new directive regarding all exports of soybeans to China (a copy of the directive can be found here). The directive applies to all exports of soybeans from the U.S. to be imported into China that need a phyto-sanitary certificate (APHIS Form 691) AND is the first step in the “system approach” for which APHIS and USDA will be providing more details soon. One aspect of the “system approach” is that China AQSIQ may require some actions like preventing weed seed exposure to the environment, denaturing or cleaning of weed seeds from shipments for which the Form 691 remarks section indicates “This consignment exceeds 1% FM.” The “systems approach” will be implemented in agreement with China’s AQSIQ that assures that no shipments of U.S. soybeans will be rejected because of a weed seed content or foreign material.

For the next two years, no shipments of U.S. soybeans will be rejected because of a weed seed content or foreign material and that the response will be monitored for 2 years before any additional action is taken.

ACTION: We have explained  to APHIS that Phytosanitary Certification Change for Soybean Shipments Going to China potentially cuts across contracts and, if necessary, should be taken at the beginning of a crop year with advance notice before the growing season. We have also indicated that if they must deploy during this marketing year a minimum of 3 month grace period is needed to accommodate any potential contractual changes.

High-Level Steering Group Meeting

The U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade High-Level Steering Group held a successful meeting with Tiger Minsok Chu, President of the Korea International Trade Association. The Steering Group discussed with Mr. Chu discussed cooperative efforts that U.S. and Korean industry can take to support bilateral trade and potential pending renegotiation of the Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. During the meeting Mr. Chu expressed his support for the bilateral relationship and his hope that growing trade and investment ties between the United States and Korea will not be damaged in any upcoming talks.

EU, IGC, Coceral and IGTC events in Brussels, Belgium – December 3-6

Gary is back from a successful meeting in Brussels, Belgium with grain trade leaders and IGTC members and corporate stakeholders. While in Brussels, Gary attended the International Grains Council’s 46^th Session on December 5^th, where he presented before IGC members (to view his presentation please click here). The IGC meetings bring together government representatives and industry stakeholders from around the world. As per the member-endorsed agreement in Buenos Aires in December 2015, the IGTC remains a committed partner at the IGC, providing grain trade updates at Council sessions, conferences and the Market Conditions Committee meetings. In addition, Gary also attended the following meetings and events:

• A European Commission Grains Outlook Seminar on December 4. At the Seminar, the Commission will present its outlook for global grain supply, demand and trade.
• The Coceral Annual Reception co-hosted by the IGTC. Invitees will include all 55 IGC member governments as well as Brussels agri-value chain representatives and officials from the EU institutions.

A trip report for this meeting will be available soon.