Food and Ag Dialogue High Level Steering Group Meeting

On Tuesday, September 26 the Gary and Ryan attended a meeting of the U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade’s High Level Steering Group at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, the Dialogue was briefed by Mike Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Mike discussed the Asia-Pacific security situation, U.S.-Korea relations, and the KORUS agreement. During the meeting, the steering group also heard reports from the Asia-Pacific and North American Working Groups, and discussed further outreach and engagement with administration officials and stakeholder groups.

Please contact Ryan for more information.

NAEGA Board of Directors Meeting and Events

Thank you to all who attended the events surrounds the NAEGA Board of Directors meeting on September 12-14.

 Taiwan Goodwill Mission Reception
During the afternoon of Tuesday, September 12 several member of the NAEGA Board attended a reception with the Taiwan Goodwill Mission. The reception was attended by Taiwanese importers on the Goodwill Mission to the United States, and U.S. government and industry personnel.

Dinner and address by Secretary Purdue
On Tuesday, September 12 several NAEGA Board Directors and their spouses joined NAEGA and the NGFA’s Board, staff and their spouses for a dinner featuring remarks by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. During his remarks, Secretary Purdue discussed his vision for the USDA, including his desire to make the Department service oriented and responsive to customer and farmer needs.

WITA Event on NAFTA and Agriculture
On the morning of Wednesday, September 13 the NAEGA Board attended a Washington International Trade Association (WITA) event on NAFTA and Agriculture. During the event, Gary spoke on NAEGA and the U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue’s priorities for the NAFTA renegotiation. A video of the event can be found here.

NAEGA Board of Directors Meeting
The NAEGA Board of Directors held a meeting on September 13 at NAEGA’s offices in Arlington, VA. Steve Smalley, Chairman of the NAEGA Board of Directors, presided over the meeting. During the meeting, the Board Members reviewed NAEGA financials, received an update  on the IGTC, heard reports from each of the Committees and approved the minutes from their last meeting, which can be found here.

Reception with the NAEGA Board of Directors
Following the meeting of the Board, NAEGA held a rooftop reception with the Board of Directors for Washington based NAEGA members, like-minded organizations, and U.S. government personnel. 

IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter includes an update on the IGTC’s presentation at the IGC’s Market Conditions Committee meeting, information about the November 2017 General Assembly and a request that members fill out a questionnaire on a global ePhyto solution.  

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

U.S. Codex Office Realignment Letter

On September 18, 2017 NAEGA joined a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue from the Food Industry Codex Coalition and allied organizations applauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s commitment to Codex and welcoming the Secretary’s recent decision to organize the U.S. Codex Office under the authority of the new USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. In the letter, the signees also recognized the knowledge and expertise of the current U.S. Codex Office staff and U.S. delegates to Codex committees and requested that USDA remain grounded in a clear, unimpeachable commitment to advancing science-based standards that enhance global food safety capacity.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

U.S.-China AQSIQ Survey Team

On September 10-20 NAEGA Senior Advisor Kirk Miller travelled throughout the Midwest with a U.S.-China AQSIQ Survey Team to tour U.S. grain handling, transshipment, and export facilities along the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. During the tours, NAEGA briefed AQSIQ officials on the scope and operation of the U.S. grain export value chain, including its fungible, co-mingled nature. This trip was meant to educate Chinese officials about the U.S. value chain related to U.S. industry compliance with Decree 177. A trip report for this travel will be available soon.

IICA Presentation on the Future of Ag Trade

On Friday, September 22 Gary participated in an Inter-American Institute on Agriculture (IICA) event on The Future of Agriculture Trade in North America. During the presentation, which featured speakers from each commodity group, Gary discussed the challenges of making the grain and oilseed trade in the region more efficient.

A copy of his presentation can be found here.

NAEGA/NGFA Statement on USDA Reorganization

On September 7, 2017 NAEGA, along with the National Grain and Feed Association, issued a statement commending the Secretary of Agriculture for his decision to relocate the Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) with the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced this decision as part of a second tranche of USDA reorganization designed to strengthen and enhance the department’s customer-service focus and maximize efficiency.  In doing so, Perdue separated FGIS from the Packers and Stockyards Administration within the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) – two agencies with significantly different missions, functions and roles. This reorganization will provide the impetus for FGIS to improve its cross-agency interaction with other government departments that share roles in facilitating the marketing of U.S. agricultural products, such as USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is responsible for issuing phytosanitary certificates for U.S. grain export shipments.

A copy of the statement can be found here.

IGC MCC Presentation

On Friday, September 8 Katy Lee, Secretariat of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) presented before the International Grain’s Council’s (IGC) Market Conditions Committee (MCC) on Current Developments in Policy and Practice as part of the IGTC’s continued and regular engagement with the IGC. This is the third time this year that the IGTC has had the opportunity to represent the grain trade and present before the IGC. Engagement with the IGC remains a critical component of the IGTC Business Plan.

A copy of Katy’s presentation can be found here.

Draft Vietnam Fumigation Requirements

The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has released draft fumigation requirements for U.S. exports of DDG, corn and wheat in containers. The documents provide guidance for industry on container fumigations, and a checklist for official inspectors to be used during the export phytosanitary inspection of containerized DDG, corn and wheat.  The documents incorporate comments received from industry over the past few weeks. NAEGA is asking all members to consider these drafts and submit comments or revisions as soon as possible.

• Industry requirements for container fumigation
• Checklist for Official Inspection of DDG/Corn /Wheat to Viet Nam

Regional and Seasonal AD/CVD Letter

On Wednesday, August 30 NAEGA joined a letter to USTR Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn regarding proposed changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would change trade remedy law by re-defining domestic industry on a seasonal/regional basis, making it easier for all three nations to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of many types of produce. The letter calls on the Administration to withhold from introducing any provisions that would encourage trading partners to raise tariffs by using regional and seasonal effects as a justification.

A copy of the letter can be found here.