U.S. Trade Partners Re-Double Efforts

(FruitNet.com – Gill McShane)

New analysis shows food safety regulatory progress by top five fruit and vegetable exporting nations to the US

A number of major supply countries of fresh fruit and vegetables to the US have modernised their food-safety laws and regulations over the past two decades to emphasise preventive measures, according to a new report released by the Produce Safety Project (PSP) at Georgetown University in the US.

The report, “Legal and Regulatory Frameworks Governing the Growing, Packing and Handling of Fresh Produce in Countries Exporting to the US,” presents a series of case studies examining five of the top 10 US produce trade partners – Canada, Chile, China, Mexico and Peru.

The 175-page report was written by Monachus Consulting, an international agricultural industry consulting firm based in Canada. Read more here.

WTO Raps U.S. Ban on Chinese Chicken Imports

(Reuters – Jonathan Lynn)

U.S. measures that effectively banned imports of Chinese cooked chicken broke international trade rules and caused injury to China’s economy, a World Trade Organization dispute panel said on Wednesday. The U.S. measures challenged by China were unscientific and discriminatory, the panel found.

The ruling, in one of several trade disputes between China and the United States, came as the U.S. House of Representatives prepared to vote on a bill declaring China’s undervalued currency a subsidy and clearing the way for duties to be imposed on some Chinese imports as a countermeasure. Read more here.

WTO Calls on US to Cut Farm Subsidies

(AFP via CommonDreams.org)

The World Trade Organization called on the United States on Wednesday to cut its farm subsidies, saying that they were so “considerable” that they could affect market prices. In a report analysing Washington’s policies since 2007, the trade body said that while promoting its exports, the United States should also reduce “distorting measures ... including ... support for agriculture.”

The WTO noted that support granted to the sector under the multi-billion-dollar 2008 Farm Act are mostly “linked to prices and or production.” Thanks to this support, “producers of cereals, oilseeds, and cotton are effectively insulated from market prices while sugar and dairy have market price support programmes,” said the WTO. “The large size of the agriculture sector means that the absolute amount of support is considerable, varies from one year to another depending on prices, and can affect world prices,” it added. Read more here.

Canada, U.S. to Set Up Working Group on Agricultural Trade

(AgCanada.com)

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and his U.S. counterpart have agreed to set up a “high-level working group” they say will advance a “science-based” approach to global ag trade.

Such a group would help improve flows of ag goods between Canada and the U.S., improve “regulatory approaches” and “further strengthen the Canada-US approach to food safety,” Ritz and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a U.S. Department of Agriculture release...

Details of the working group are to be announced “at a later time,” USDA said.

The bilateral working group would “examine ways we can collaborate and promote more free exchange of agricultural products between our countries, and in markets around the globe,” Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, said in the release.

“The farmers and ranchers in the (U.S.) and Canada are among the most productive in the world, and they only benefit by reducing barriers to markets.”

“Canada and the U.S. already exchange over C$34 billion in agricultural products every year,” Ritz said in the release. “Working together, we can break down barriers overseas and expand the opportunities for Canadian and American farmers throughout the world.” Read more here.

Ban on Canadian Peppers and Tomatoes

(WNWO Newsdesk)

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that all whole tomatoes and peppers imported from Canada are prohibited in personal luggage until further notice.

As of June 21, the CBP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated this ban due to the fact that Canada imports peppers from countries known to have been affected by the False Codling Moth. Canada also imports tomatoes from countries known to have been affected by the tomato leafminer. Both insects have the potential to cause significant economic damage to the American agricultural system.

Tomatoes and peppers that have been sliced may be allowed from Canada if they have been inspected by the CBP. Whole peppers and tomatoes grown in America may be imported after CPB inspection. Some proof of the country of origin must be placed on the container for importing.

Commercial shipments will be required to have a certificate which names of the country of origin and the greenhouse the plants were grown in before being allowed in the country.

OECD: Rich Countries Raised Farm Subsidies in 2009

(Bridges Weekly)

The world’s rich countries boosted government support for agriculture in 2009, according to a report that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released last week. The report, Agricultural Policies in OECD Countries: At a Glance 2010, is part of the OECD’s annual effort to quantify and assess the support that its 31 developed country members provide to their agricultural producers.

The OECD found that the Producer Support Estimate (PSE) rose to US$252 billion dollars in 2009, which was the equivalent of 22% of total farm receipts in that year. In 2008, the share of farm receipts attributable to agricultural support was 21%.

The Producer Support Estimate measures the annual monetary value of gross transfers from consumers and taxpayers to agricultural producers, relative to a situation without those policy measures in place. It is one of the many indicators designed and used by the OECD for monitoring and evaluating the composition of government support for agriculture.

The highlights of the report are available in PDF form here: here. The full report can also be purchased through the OECD bookshop: OECD bookshop.

USDA Removes Temporary Restrictions on Cattle and Bison Imports from British Columbia

(Feedstuffs)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has removed temporary brucellosis testing requirements for certain cattle and bison from British Columbia, according to a June 17 statement from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Sexually intact cattle and bison that have resided in B.C. since March 25, 2010, are no longer required to test negative for brucellosis prior to export to the U.S.

The restrictions were put in place after three beef cows originating from two farms in British Columbia, a western province in Canada, were suspected of having brucellosis, based on tests done by the USDA during routine slaughter testing. A subsequent and thorough investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) did not identify the presence of brucellosis in the animals or on the two farms. All cattle herds in Canada remain officially free of brucellosis, according to the CFIA statement.

WTO Rules Against U.S. Ban on Chinese Poultry Products

(Domain-b)

China has won an interim ruling over the U.S. ban on Chinese poultry exports from World Trade Organisation, which ruled the American curbs on Chinese poultry were violating international trade laws, the China Daily reported [June 17].

The report said that the U.S. ban violated the WTO's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures that govern food safety measures in global trade, regulations on most-favoured-nation treatment and general elimination of quantitative restrictions under the WTO framework.

According to the report this was the first time that China had challenged U.S. laws.

It quoted a Chinese commerce ministry official as saying, that the U.S. was unlikely to attempt a similar ban next fiscal year, “for it will be regarded as open defiance of the latest WTO ruling.”

Ottawa Will Defend Dairy, Poultry in EU talks: Blackburn

(CTV.ca – The Canadian Press)

Canada’s minister of state for agriculture says Ottawa will defend the supply management system of dairy and poultry products in any free trade talks with the European Union.

Jean-Pierre Blackburn won’t be taking part in the next round of talks between Canada and its second largest trading partner – he’ll be in the Netherlands commemorating Canada’s contribution to that country’s liberation in the Second World War. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan will be among the federal politicians in Brussels for the Canada-EU summit on May 5. But Blackburn weighed-in on the talks and said the federal government remains committed to backing its dairy and poultry industries.

“There is a need for new markets for the food sector like any other sector,” he told The Canadian Press. “But at the same time we know some specific aspects have to be protected.” He said supply management allowed dairy and poultry industries to remain among the most profitable and stable in Canada. Read more here.

Dairy Industry Lobbies to Cut Milk from Soy Milk

(FoodNavigator-USA.com – Guy Montague-Jones)

A dairy industry group is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to banish the term ‘soy milk’ and stamp out any other use of dairy-specific terms to describe non-dairy products. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has sent a petition to the FDA urging the regulator to crack down on what it calls “the misappropriation of dairy terminology on imitation milk products.”

Since the NMPF first complained to the FDA about the practice a decade ago, the trade body argues that it is now more common than ever. In addition to the proliferation of terms like ‘soy milk’ and ‘soymilk’, the petition to the FDA contends that other dairy product names like cheese, yogurt and ice cream are being used by makers of non-dairy products.

The NMPF describes this as “false and misleading” labeling. Jerry Kozak, NMPF president and CEO, accuses the FDA of letting the issue slide so that the meaning of ‘milk’ has now been “watered down to the point where many products that use the term have never seen the inside of a barn.” Read more here.

USDA Releases Major Report on Agricultural Transportation

(CIFFA eBulletin)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday released to Congress a comprehensive report on agricultural transportation in the United States, the first ever of this magnitude.

The report, Study of Rural Transportation Issues, was mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill and covers the four major modes of transportation commonly used by agriculture in the United States-truck, rail, barge, and ocean vessel.

The report examines some of the major issues facing agricultural transportation, including: the dramatic effect of deregulation on the rail industry, a growing gap for funding the inland waterways and highway systems, availability of containers and ocean vessel capacity, and the infrastructure that may be needed to support a projected increase in bio-fuel transportation.

The report also discusses the current approach to transportation policy in the United States, in which each mode of transportation is often considered separately without an overarching view of the flow of freight through all the modes. Study of Rural Transportation Issues may be found on the Agricultural Marketing Service website here.

Canada Risks Being Shut Out of Pacific Trade Pact, New Zealand PM Warns

(John Ibbitson — Globe & Mail)

Ottawa’s insistence on protecting dairy industry with tariffs at issue

New Zealand’s Prime Minister is warning that unless Canada abandons its protections for the dairy industry, it will not be allowed to join a landmark trade agreement being negotiated among Pacific nations.

Canada has no free trade agreements anywhere in Asia, and a failure to sign on to an expanded Trans-Pacific Partnership would leave this country shut out of the Asia-Pacific region, which is widely viewed as the engine of economic growth in the 21st century.

John Key, who was in Ottawa on Wednesday for talks and dinner with Stephen Harper, said he told the Prime Minister that he hoped Canada would ultimately join the TPP, as it is commonly called.

But “I made it clear, from New Zealand’s point of view, we would want to engage in flexible and comprehensive agreements,” he maintained.

When asked whether any nation would be permitted to join the agreement while carving out protections for its dairy industry, he replied: “That is not our intention. No.” Read more here.

U.S. to Vigorously Defend COOL

(Capital Press – Tim Hearden)

Senators urge Obama to prevent WTO from making changes

The Obama administration is reaffirming its vow to vigorously defend a new country-of-origin labeling law after being urged by 25 U.S. senators to do so. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office is working closely with the Department of Agriculture to take America’s case to the World Trade Organization, asserts Debbie Mesloh, the deputy assistant U.S. trade representative in Washington, D.C.

“The United States believes the country-of-origin provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill are fully consistent with all of our WTO trade obligations,” Mesloh told the Capital Press in an e-mail.

Mesloh’s reassurances come after U.S. Sens. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., led a group of senators calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and trade representative Ron Kirk to defend mandatory country-of-origin labeling against complaints from Canada and Mexico. Johnson and Enzi were joined by 23 colleagues, including Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. The senators urged the government to ensure that no changes are made to the program as a result of the WTO process. Read more here.

Pact Ends Decades-Old Trade Fight Over Bananas

(New York Times – Reuters)

The European Union, the United States, and Latin American, African and Caribbean nations are expected to initial a deal on Tuesday ending a decades-old trade dispute over bananas, European officials said. The pact will end the longest-running trade dispute and remove a potential obstacle to a new deal to open global commerce in the World Trade Organization’s eight-year-old Doha round. Final signature is expected to take place next year. Read more here.

Honey Might Need Country-of-Origin Labeling

(Farm and Dairy)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is soliciting comments on its interim final rule for country-of-origin labeling of honey. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is establishing a new regulation addressing country-of-origin labeling for packed honey bearing any official USDA mark or statement.

Under the new farm bill, the regulations governing inspection and certification would be amended to include a provision for country-of origin-labeling requirements for packed honey, and for debarment of services if the labeling requirements are not met for packages of honey containing official USDA grade marks or statements.

The 2008 farm bill requires that packaged honey, bearing any combination of USDA marks or statements, must also display the name or names of the one or more countries of origin of the lot or container, permanently in close proximity to the USDA marks or statement – such as on the same side(s) or surface(s), of a comparable size to the USDA marks or statements, and are preceded by the words “Product of” or other words of similar meaning.

To allow the industry to clear the market of labels that do not comply with the new rules, this interim final rule becomes effective October 6.

Written comments must be received by September 8 and should be sent to Chere L. Shorter, Processed Products Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, Stop 0247, 1400 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, DC 20250-0247; e-mailed to chere.shorter@usda.gov ; or faxed to 202- 690-1527. Electronic copies should be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov.

New Import Requirements for Food Products Containing Small Amounts of Meat/Poultry

(World Trade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a notice April 14 advising importers of new requirements for imports of food products containing small amounts of meat or poultry. CBP notes that a Department of Agriculture import permit will now be required for all Food Safety Inspection Service-exempted food products containing small amounts (i.e., less than two percent) of meat and/or poultry ingredients.

Therefore, products such as bouillon cubes, extracts and soup mixes, which were previously allowed entry solely under a health certificate indicating that the product was concentrated by boiling, will now also require a USDA import permit. CBP will begin enforcing this new requirement on June 22.

Government of Canada Supports the Agriculture Industry in International Markets

(Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada)

The Government of Canada today launched a new program to help Canadian farmers and exporters sell more products to more international customers. This new Trade and Market Development Program is part of the new Growing Forward agricultural framework.

“You have to create opportunities in international markets to have a competitive farm gate here in Canada,” said Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. “By supporting Canadian exporters, we are increasing opportunities for everyone all along the value chain, from farm gate to fork.”

“This program is another way to help agriculture exporters expand opportunities across international borders,” said the Honorable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture).

The Trade and Market Development program will make sure exporters have the information and support they need to sell more products in more markets. It includes a range of initiatives to bring industry success in global and domestic markets. The program will help equip the sector to seize market opportunities and address emerging challenges.

A key component of the program is the AgriMarketing program which will sell more of Canada's safe, high-quality world-class products around the world. For example, the program will help exporters by ensuring the Canada Brand maple leaf is on promotional materials, raising the profile of the good, healthy food our farmers produce.

Growing Forward is a new commitment to Canada's farmers and associated industries that is focused on achieving results, reflects input from across the sector, and will deliver programs that are simpler, more effective and tailored to local needs.

For additional information about the Trade and Market Development Program, please visit here.

Canada May Resume WTO Complaint Over U.S. Label Rules

(Bloomberg – Alexandre Deslongchamps)

Canada would resume its World Trade Organization complaint against U.S. labeling rules for meat and fresh produce if U.S. President Barack Obama decides to change them, Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said today [Tuesday].

The country-of-origin labeling law went into effect on an interim basis on September 30. It requires food sold in the U.S. to carry markers showing where it was produced. Obama has ordered a review of the rules before they become permanent, which had been scheduled for mid-March.

“Should the Obama administration continue on with protectionism, we will then re-ignite our WTO challenge,” Ritz said from Amman, Jordan in a telephone call with reporters.

The U.S. imposed its first country-of-origin labeling rules amid public concern about unsafe imports. Canada launched its original complaint when the rules where announced, but put it on hold after they were changed to Canada’s satisfaction.

Statistics Canada said today the U.S. labeling rules generated uncertainty about demand for Canadian meat that contributed to reducing the country’s cattle herd last year. The cattle and calf herd shrank 5.1% to 13.2 million head from 13.9 million, according to the agency. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of pork and beef to the U.S., government data show.

Government of Canada Responds to U.S. Country-of-Origin Labelling Measures

(Minister of International Trade)

The Government of the United States of America today published its final regulations for U.S. country-of-origin labelling (COOL). The Government of Canada recognizes provisions in the final rule that will help to level the playing field for Canadian producers and will strengthen the integrated North American livestock industry.

“I am pleased that key issues raised by Canada are addressed in these measures,” said the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. “Together with the provinces and industry, we will continue to assess the trade and market impact of this legislation. We have built a strong and durable trade relationship over the years with the United States and we must more than ever aggressively pursue this already robust relationship during these difficult economic times.”

“This government always stands up for Canadian livestock producers and that hard work is paying off as we protect and expand opportunities for our producers within the integrated North American beef industry,” said the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “These final regulations will help to address the concerns we’ve consistently raised with our American counterparts, and we will continue to work with the U.S. to prevent any unfair harm to our industry.”

“The bottom line is that the changes to the final rule will help to keep livestock trade moving throughout the integrated North American market and will benefit producers, consumers and processors,” added Minister Day.

The final regulations will allow for more flexibility on labelling requirements in the U.S. for meat from animals of American and Canadian origin that are brought together during a production run. Canada has repeatedly raised concerns that COOL could impose unfair costs, especially on Canadian livestock producers, by requiring the segregation of Canadian animals.

Most recently, Canada and the U.S. held formal consultations under the World Trade Organization regarding the adverse impact of the interim regulatory measures on Canadian livestock and meat producers. Canada will continue to monitor the situation and defend Canadian producers through discussions and representations to the U.S. at all levels.

The U.S. and Canada are each other’s largest agricultural trading partners. In 2007, bilateral agricultural trade totalled $32.3 billion.

Implementation of COOL a Challenge

(The Beef Site)

The U.S. based Food Marketing Institute reports part of the difficulty in adapting to U.S. Mandatory Country of Labeling is that many products are covered by the new rules while many similar products are not, writes Bruce Cochrane. U.S. Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling came into effect September 30 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to begin enforcement in April.

The Food Marketing Institute represents about 15 hundred food retailers and wholesalers in the U.S. and around the world.

FMI chief legal officer Deborah White says part of the challenge facing retailers in implementing the new rules is that there isn’t a lot of rhyme or reason for what is covered and what isn’t.
“Our Congress here in the United States decided that the foods that should be covered by Country of origin Labelling are beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fresh and frozen produce, seafood and then sort of an assortment of nuts and miscellaneous items, that is peanuts pecans macadamia nuts and ginseng.

“In terms of whether or not any of these things should be covered or shouldn’t be covered, the Food Marketing Institutes has long opposed mandatory Country of origin Labelling. We feel that information on products can best be delivered to consumers through voluntary marketing type programs.

“We don’t believe that any of these products should be the subject of mandatory Country of origin Labelling but part of the challenge that our members have in implementing this is it is a sort of an ad-hoc list without a whole lot of rhyme and reason. For example chicken is covered but turkey isn’t or peanuts and pecans are covered but walnuts and almonds aren’t so that presents some challenges in and of itself.”

White notes the new labeling rules apply only to covered commodities that are sold by U.S. retailers but they do not apply to products sold in restaurants, products destined for export out of the U.S. or to products that fall [within] the USDA’s definition of processed commodities.