News Update

October 13, 2011

House and Senate Pass All Three Free-Trade Agreements

Wednesday night, Oct. 12, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed all three free-trade agreements (FTAs).

The House passed the Colombia FTA 262-167, the Panama FTA 300-129 and the Korea FTA 278-151.

The Senate passed the Korea FTA 83-15, the Panama FTA 77-22 and the Colombia FTA 66-33.

Now that the House and Senate have passed the free-trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, they will go back to President Obama for his signature. Afterward, each country will certify the implementing language for the trade agreements and set dates for implementation. Once the Korean legislature passes its implementing language, it must be certified by President Obama and a date of implementation will be set.

— Adapted from release by NCBA.

Lucas Praises House Passage of Trade Agreements

Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3078, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act, H.R. 3079, the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act, and H.R. 3080, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.

“These agreements will put us in a better position to compete globally, expand U.S. exports, create jobs, and bring much-needed income to communities across rural America,” said Lucas.

Right now, Colombia imposes duties on all American ag products. They range from 5% to 20%. Yet the United States still sells more than $830 million in ag products there. That is because America’s farmers and ranchers produce high-quality crops and livestock, and those goods are in demand. Under this agreement, Colombia would eliminate tariffs on 70% of U.S. exports. Also, American ag products would no longer be subject to tariffs and would become more cost-competitive. The Farm Bureau estimates the United States will see $370 million more in farm exports to Colombia annually.

More than 60% of U.S. farm exports to Panama face some sort of duty or tariff. Those tariffs average 15%, but they can be as high as 70% on meat, 90% on grain, and a staggering 260% on poultry. Meanwhile, more than 99% of Panama’s farm exports enter the United States duty-free. The agreement creates new opportunities for America’s farmers and ranchers and levels the playing field for American exporters.

Korea is the fifth-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports. Currently, America’s producers face an average tariff of 54% when exporting to Korea. Similar goods from Korea enter the United States at an average rate of only 9%. Passing this agreement corrects that imbalance and provides better access to Korea’s 49 million consumers. The Farm Bureau estimates that once the agreement is fully implemented, the United States could see $1.9 billion in increased farm exports.

— Release by House Agriculture Committee.

National Symposium Focus: 360-Degree View of Antibiotic Use in Food Animals

Antibiotic use in food animals has been dissected in the media, online and among consumers for the past several years and is a hot topic among those involved in food animal production. Most people have a definite point of view regarding this polarized topic and express that point of view in discussions with professional colleagues, friends and family. But is the information delivered or received fact-based, simply emotion-based or rhetoric?

An upcoming “Antibiotic Use in Food Animals: A Dialogue for a Common Purpose” symposium Oct. 26-27 in Chicago, Ill., will provide a 360-degree view regarding antibiotic use in food animals and is open to anyone interested in the topic of antibiotic use in food animal production. Hosted by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA), the symposium will provide a platform where those in animal agriculture, human health and the media can interact, dialogue and learn from each other.

The symposium, which will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel, O’Hare, Chicago, Ill., will kick off at 3 p.m. Oct. 26, and wrap up at 3 p.m. Oct. 27. The symposium immediately follows the 2011 Food System Summit, Oct. 25-26, hosted by the Center for Food Integrity at the same venue.

For more details, see the full release in the Calendar of Upcoming Events in API’s Virtual Library (http://www.api-virtuallibrary.com/meetings_other_calendar.html).

— Adapted from release by National Institute for Animal Agriculture.

Ag Committee Examines Proposals to Bring Balance to Financial Regulatory Reform

Wednesday, Oct. 12, the House Ag Committee hosted a public hearing to review seven legislative proposals amending Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The proposals are the culmination of the committee’s oversight efforts of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as it writes rules for Dodd-Frank. Throughout the year, the committee has had several hearings on Title VII that have included testimony from every type of market participant. Businesses across America in a variety of industries have shared consistent concerns the CFTC is overreaching in its rulemaking and it will have a negative effect on businesses and on the economy.

“These proposals will fix some important areas in implementation where the regulators — the CFTC in particular — simply haven’t gotten it right. We are facing widespread and potentially severe unintended consequences from these regulations that will have a direct effect on our economic recovery. When the rules are final, they’re final. And businesses across the country, including our farmers and ranchers, need to prepare for the new regulations and related costs now. They will not be able to wait for Congress to act,” said Chairman Frank Lucas.

H.R. 1840 would require the CFTC to assess the costs and benefits of its actions. H.R. 2682, the Business Risk Mitigation and Stabilization Act, ensures that end users can continue to use derivatives to manage business risks without being subject to costly margin requirements. H.R. 2779 provides clarification that inter-affiliate transactions, when the parties to the transaction are under common control, are not to be regulated as swaps. H.R. 2586, the Swap Execution Facility (SEF) Clarification Act, prohibits the regulators from requiring a minimum number of participants to receive or respond to quote requests. It also prohibits regulators from limiting the means of interstate commerce that market participants can use to execute swaps and prohibits the agencies from requiring a SEF to display or delay quotes for any specific period of time.

Additionally, the Committee also examined three draft proposals of legislation that would clarify the definition of swap dealer, would ensure pension plans are not limited in their ability to manage risk with swaps, and would allow banks to offer swaps in connection with an extension of credit without being classified as swaps dealers.

— Adapted from release by House Agriculture Committee.

New Director of Marketing and Genomics for
Trans Ova Genetics

Trans Ova Genetics has announced that Mark Allan has joined the Trans Ova Genetics team as the director of marketing and genomics, based out of the company’s headquarters in Sioux Center, Iowa.

In this position Allan will continue to develop sales, marketing, and client service aspects of Trans Ova Genetics. Allan will work to maintain leadership and growth for Trans Ova Genetics in the areas of embryo transfer (ET), in vitro fertilization (IVF), sexed semen, and other advanced reproductive technologies in the beef, dairy and rodeo stock industries. He will also help industry stakeholders gain understanding of the potential genetic gain utilizing Trans Ova Genetics assisted reproductive tools coupled with the power of genomic information.

Before joining Trans Ova Genetics, Allan was the associate director of global technical services for Pfizer Animal Health Genetics. He was instrumental in the development and launch of Pfizer’s Angus HD 50K, a high density DNA tool enabling enhanced genetic improvement in Angus cattle.

Allan earned his undergraduate animal science degree from the University of Nebraska (NU). He worked as herdsman for Adams Bros. and Co., Kilgore, Neb., and then Sullivan Limousin, Dunlap, Iowa, before going to graduate school at NU. Upon earning his doctorate, he served as a research geneticist for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb. In that position, he provided leadership in DNA mapping of production traits in beef cattle, with a large portion of his work focused on feed efficiency and reproductive performance.

Mark and his wife, Alise, are the proud parents of Kiley and Brady.

— Adapted from Release by Trans Ova Genetics.

— Compiled by Katie Gazda, intern, Angus Productions Inc.