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USDA Catfish Inspection Threatens to Raise Consumer Prices, Says Cato Analyst
August 13, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|USDA

U.S. consumers could face much higher prices for catfish in the near future if Congress permits the U.S. Department of Agriculture Catfish Inspection Program to remain law and lawmakers also provide funding for the initiative, said Bill Watson, a trade policy analyst with the libertarian Cato Institute, in an Aug. 12 Cato podcast. Many lawmakers, industry representatives and foreign diplomats have recently decried the program as a protectionist non-tariff barrier aimed at safeguarding U.S. industry (see 13121124). The 2014 Farm Bill, however, kept the program in U.S. law (see 14020713). “We could see imported catfish excluded from the U.S. market for about five years until foreign producers can prove equivalence to these new U.S. standards,” said Watson. “Right now the U.S. imports at least 60 percent of the catfish that we consume, so the impact on U.S. prices could be significant.” Roughly 50 percent of U.S. catfish imports are from Vietnam, said Watson. The House abandoned consideration of agriculture appropriations legislation in June before it could vote on an amendment that would prohibit funding for the Catfish Inspection Program (see 14061220).

Chinese Gov't Bans Several US Meat Storage, Processing Facilities, Says USDA
August 13, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|USDA

The Chinese government recently prohibited six storage establishments and six U.S. processing plants from exporting to the country as of Aug. 13, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA did not immediately respond for comment, but Reuters reports that the Chinese government is enforcing a ban on the feed additive ractopamine in pork products (here). The delisted storage facilities include the following:

USDA Posts List of Tariff Lines Affected by Russia Ag Import Ban
August 12, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted an unofficial translation of tariff headings affected by the Russian government’s ban on imports of agricultural products from the U.S., European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on Aug. 6 to provide the authority to the Russian government to retaliate against Western sanctions through bans and restrictions on imports from those countries (see 14080713). Russia banned all cattle and pork meat, fish and other aquatic invertebrates, certain poultry and dairy products, vegetables and other crops, sausages and similar meat products and certain prepared products including cheeses and curd that are made with vegetable oils.

USDA Misses Deadline to Outline Trade Function Reorganization Plans
August 11, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|USDA

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) missed an Aug. 6 deadline to submit a report to Congress on its efforts to reorganize the agency’s trade agencies and functions for agriculture imports and exports, a USDA spokeswoman confirmed. The 2014 Farm Bill (here) mandated submission of the report 180 days after President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law in February. The law requires USDA to outline a plan for the establishment of an undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. The position “would serve as a multiagency coordinator of sanitary and phytosanitary issues and nontariff trade barriers in agriculture with respect to imports and exports of agricultural products,” says the law. U.S. companies continue to face a raft of SPS issues, notably in the European Union, industry representatives say (see 14061128). "The department is approaching this report very thoughtfully and deliberately," said the USDA spokeswoman. "A potential departmental reorganization is very complex and we are determining how to approach that in a way that would best meet the goals laid out in the Farm Bill while continuing to accomplish all of USDA's duties." Meanwhile, USDA praised on Aug. 6 implementation of the legislation over the past six months, including provisions geared toward expanding U.S. market access abroad (here).