Washington State Delegated Authority Comments

On Wednesday, August 2 NAEGA and the National Grain and Feed Association submitted a joint statement to the Grain Inspectors, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) regarding the agency’s notice of intent to certify the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) as a delegated official agency. In the comments, NAEGA and NGFA strongly recommend that GIPSA, FGIS and the WSDA implement procedures to prevent disruptions of work and meet the statutory obligations of the Grain Standards Act, including:

1. Prohibiting the intervention of political influence in determining whether, how and by whom Official inspections by Delegated State agencies are conducted at export port locations.
2. Requiring FGIS to act with expedited due process to prevent illegal actions that impede or prohibit Official Grain Inspection and Weighing Services.
3. Developing processes and procedures if a Delegated Official State agency is to be replaced by FGIS inspectors.
4. Provide for GIPSA to meet its obligations to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regardless of its ability to meet the Statutory Obligation to Provide Official Grain Inspection and Weighing Services at Export Port Locations.
5. Make the Delegation of Authority Agreements Uniform, Transparent and Consistent.

A copy of the joint statement can be found here.

Clause 20 Issued in PNW

On Thursday, July 20 Gary Martin, President and CEO of NAEGA, issued a Clause 20 certificate related to exceptional impediments to transportation in the Pacific Northwest region. The request for certification resulted when impediments to transportation, caused by the closure of multiple rail lines due to rockslides and other events, prevented the forwarding of the commodity to the port to the point where loading was prevented. The panel recommended and the President confirmed that this was a valid cause and NAEGA provided a certificate that established the start of the cause at 0000 PST on February 18, 2017 and the end of the cause to be 1553 CST on February 19, 2017.

Geneva IGTC and IGC Meetings

A trip report is now available for Gary’s travel to Geneva, Switzerland to support NAEGA 2017 and 2018 UES objectives largely executed via the IGTC. In Geneva, Gary reported on and received recommendations for IGTC actions to address facilitation of trade with China, to consider parameters for the establishment of new commercial and official practices related to information management and implementation of regulations and to explore options for modification of the IGTC business plan. These included meetings to advance IGTC priorities and developments at the global level, including:

• The digitization of trading documentation;
• The IPPC International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures for grain;
• The endorsement of the Global Low-Level Presence Initiative (GLI);
• The IGTC’s position on MRLs.

A copy of the trip report can be found here.

Global Low Level Presence Initiative

A trip report is now available for NAEGA Senior Advisor Paul Green’s travel to Rome, Italy for the 5^th annual meeting of the Global Low Level Presence Initiative (GLI). In Rome, Paul monitored, reported and analyzed developments and work with like-minded governments and the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) to provide for:

• The GLI as an active, ongoing and relevant forum where government can work together to harmonize LLP policy globally;
• Information to GLI members on how an LLP policy might be implemented.

A primary goal of Mr. Green’s participation in this GLI was to convey grain trade practical experience and knowledge as part of an broader effort to move GLI countries to endorse and begin implementing the “Practical Approaches Paper” that was a prominent part of the agenda.

A copy of the trip report can be found here.

Mexico NAFTA Comments

On Tuesday, July 26 NAEGA submitted comments to the Government of Mexico following a request for consultations by the Secretaria de Economia on negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAEGA’s comments laid out negotiating priorities, including:

• Maintaining all market access and tariff concessions.
• Creating a Rapid Response Mechanism.
• Enhancing science based SPS rules.
• Adopting risk management and risk assessment procedures that prevent the use of non-tariff barriers that lack scientific merit.
• Promoting regulatory consistency and cooperation provisions.
• Strengthening efforts to address TBT matters.
• Increasing transparency and cooperation on modern agricultural production technologies.
• Enabling the innovation of information technologies that improve logistics and regulatory implementation to facilitate trade.
• Ensuring safe, orderly and secure passage for rail and truck freight transportation with member countries.

A copy of the comments can be found here.

PNWER Summit

On Monday, July 24 Gary presented before a two panels at the 2017 Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s (PNWER) Annual Summit in Portland, OR on the Economic Impact of Trade in the Agriculture Sector and at a Rountable on Border and Trade. During the Economic Impact of Trade in the Agriculture Sector Gary was joined by Alexis Taylor, Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Frederic Seppey, Chief Trade Negotiator of Agrifoods Canada. During this presentation, Gary discussed the great success that trade has been for the North American grain and feed sector and the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement in promoting trade in the Pacific Northwest region. In addition, Gary laid out NAEGA negotiating objectives for the upcoming NAFTA negotiations.

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

McKinney and Censky Letters

This week, NAEGA joined two letters supporting the confirmation of Steve Censky as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Ted McKinney as Under Secretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The first letter, to members of the U.S. Senate, applauds President Trump’s nomination of Mr. Censky and calls for his prompt confirmation. The second letter to Senators Pat Roberts and Debbie Stabenow, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, call for the expeditious confirmation of Mr. McKinney by the committee and the Senate

A copy of the letters can be found here(Censky) and here(McKinney).

London IGC and IGTC Trip Report

A trip report is now available for Gary, Katy and Marcel’s travel to London, United Kingdom to  participate in a number of activities that support NAEGA UES programming and the IGTC business plan. In London, Gary, Katy and Marcel participated and hosted:

• IGTC Strategy Session
• IGTC Management Council Meeting
• 2017 International Grains Council (IGC) Grains Conference
• GAFTA Annual Dinner.

 The primary purpose of this mission to London was implementation of the IGTC Business Plan through the enhancement of IGTC Policy Teams, Working Groups and operations, engagement and information exchange with IGTC members and corporate stakeholders and new member recruitment. 

A copy of the trip report can be found here

IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter includes an update on the IGTC’s work on the IPPC’s ISPM for grain, an invitation to a Codex Commission event in Geneva, and an update on IGTC work at the World Trade Organization on e-certifications.  

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

USTR Comments

This week, NAEGA and the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) submitted comments to the U.S. Trade Representatives (USTR) regarding the Administration’s reviews and report to the president on trade agreement violations and abuses. The comments outline the performance of U.S. free trade agreement on the grain and feed trade and the performance of WTO agreements on multilateral trading arrangements. In the comments, NAEGA and NGFA highlight the overwhelming success of free trade agreements in promoting trade and opening up markets for grain and feed trade products. The comments also list some on-going tariff and non-tariff barrier challenges industry currently faces with trade agreement partners and WTO partners with which the U.S. has a significant trade deficit.

A copy of the comments can be found here.