IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter includes upcoming events on plant breeding innovation, risks in the food and production supply chain, and the Global Low Level Presence Initiative (GLI). This week’s communication also includes IGTC Policy Team member Ricardo Calderon’s report on the Mexican Seeds Association (AMSAC) PBI seminar last month. Read the newsletter to learn about the new CBD study on digital sequencing of genomes and to take advantage of the IGTC discount when you book tickets for the annual GAFTA dinner coming up in June.

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

High Level Dialogue for Integration in the Asia-Pacific

NAEGA President and CEO Gary Martin reported on the High-Level Dialogue on Integration Initiatives in the Asia-Pacific Region on March 12-17. In Chile, Gary represented NAEGA in the dialogue hosted by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, continuing NAEGA’s leadership role in the industry on the future of trade in the Asia-Pacific region.

Gary’s trip report can be accessed here. You can read the Joint Statement by TPP Partners here.

Comments to Trump Admistration on Significant Trade Deficits report.

On May 11, 2017 NAEGA and the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative regarding the Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits for the President in response to Executive Order 13786. In the comments NAEGA and NGFA provides a specific analysis of U.S. grain, oilseed and feed trade and highlights the continued and significant positive contribution that the U.S. grain and oilseed industry has on the U.S. balance of trade.  Ultimately, we seek collaboration with the U.S. Administration focused on:

• Maintaining and expanding market access, tariff concessions and other provisions that have enabled economic integration.
• Improving regulatory coherence and cooperation by implementing enhanced science-based sanitary and phytosanitary rules, such as a rapid-response mechanism that commits trading partners to swiftly notify and resolve such issues, thereby averting costly demurrage and trade inefficiencies associated with U.S. agricultural exports being held at customs in importing countries.
• Strengthening efforts to address technical barriers to trade to prevent non-tariff barriers that lack scientific merit.
• Increasing transparency and cooperation on activities related to modern agricultural production technologies, including seed-breeding innovations.
• Aligning standards, including product and ingredient registration, fortification and certification requirements.
• Enabling innovation of information technologies to improve logistics and regulatory implementation.

A copy of the comments can be found here.

ISF and IGC Meetings

Gary Martin, President and CEO of NAEGA and the IGTC, Marcel Bruins, NAEGA/IGTC Science Advisor and Katy Lee, IGTC Secretariat have reported on recent travel to Zurich, Switzerland and London, UK on March 5-7 for meeting with the International Grains Council (IGC) and the International Seed Federation (ISF). Gary, Marcel, and Katy participated in the International Seed Federation (ISF) Plant Breeding Innovation Working Group meeting in Zurich before Gary and Katy flew to London for a day of meetings with the IGC and GAFTA. Both ISF and the IGC prioritized Gary’s visit in their respective meeting agendas.

The trip report for this mission is now available.

Argentina Working Visit

IGTC Secretariat Katy Lee is back from her most recent IGTC working visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 12-26. A trip report for her working visit is now available.  In Buenos Aires Katy conducted a working visit with CIARA-CEC and its members along with IGTC corporate stakeholder as a part of IGTC’s Global Outreach Program. Katy used the visit to discuss and collect feedback on new IGTC policy files, working groups and upcoming priorities. While in Buenos Aires, Katy also coordinated the representation of the IGTC at the government-led workshop on LLP Safety Assessment on 14-15 March, with 12 countries present.

World Food Prize Support

On Monday, NAEGA President and CEO Gary Martin, who also serves as President of the International Grain Trade Coalition, addressed an open letter to the World Food Prize Foundation Selection Committee expressing his support for the nomination for the World Food Prize of Victor Villalobos, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA). Mr. Martin expressed his fullhearted endorsement of Mr. Villalobos, highlighting his lifelong contributions to feeding the world and inspirational leadership in the agricultural industry.

The full letter to the World Food Prize Foundation Selection Committee is available here.

GIPSA Comments on Delegated States

This week NAEGA and NGFA authored two letters to the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) regarding GIPSAs intent to certify Alabama and South Carolina Delegated Official Agencies. The letters express no objection to the certification of the states of Alabama and South Carolina for official inspection, and welcome the increased transparency regarding notice and comment on delegation being implemented under the reauthorization of the U.S. Grain Standards Act.  

Comments submitted to GIPSA by NAEGA and NGFA for South Carolina and Alabama can be found here and here.

Clause 20 Certification Process Underway

NAEGA received, and has begun the process to respond to, a request from one seller for Certification of Cause related to rail transportation impediments during February 2017. 

China

Gary is back from Beijing where he met with China’s AQSIQ to address U.S. compliance with Decree 177. Meetings with AQSIQ were successful in gaining acceptance of the existing U.S. list of exporting firms and progress on development of further clarification of compliance needs.

During the week, Gary also met with and established an understanding with The China Group Companies Association (CGCA, www.cgcpa.org) intended to provide for joint work to improve utilization of information systems to facilitate trade and regulatory compliance.  As a result, NAEGA has taken under consideration and will be reporting on the work of a CGCA sponsored think tank: International Institute for the Development of Multinational Institutions (www.idmni.org).

Gary’s trip report will soon be available. Please contact Gary if you would like to discuss.

IGTC Newsletter

The latest IGTC newsletter is now available! This week’s newsletter contains details of IGTC Secretariat Katy Lee’s two-week travel to the East Africa Grain Council, IGTC’s Global Webinars on Plant Breeding Innovation, and a call for feedback on the IGTC MRL Work Plan. Also highlighted are upcoming events including the June 5 and 6 IGTC strategy session and meetings in London as well as the June 14-15 Global Low Level Presence Initiative (GLI) meeting in Rome.

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