USCA's Testimony before the US International Trade
Commission Hearing on Global Beef Trade
Click here for the US Cattlemen's testimony that was recently presented to the US International Trade Commission regarding global beef trade. USCA is currently finalizing its post hearing comments, and I will circulate those shortly.
The past few days we have witnessed the passage of yet another poorly written FTA, and the resumption of older Canadian cattle.
Frustrating times for US cattle producers, no doubt.
However, I pulled the subset below that was included in the concluding remarks of the USCA testimony as I think it provides a great overview of how we need to shape our US cattle industry!
Best,
Jess
Fixing the Problem
For nearly four years, the global beef market has suffered from deep disparities in the
ways different countries protect their consumers and herds from BSE. This disparity constitutes
the single greatest threat to fair competition in the global market. Harmonization of BSE
standards -- both in practice and in law -- between the United States and its major trading
partners is crucial to the recovery of the export markets lost by U.S. cattlemen and a rebalancing
of global beef markets.The animal health, sanitary, and food safety measures of our key trading partners remain
stuck on the faulty premise that the U.S. beef supply is compromised. The United States has
moved much faster than our trading partners to re-open its borders to cattle and beef from
countries with a history of BSE.U.S. negotiating resources should be devoted to addressing the regulatory disparities
between the key beef trading countries. This issue should take pre-eminence over every other
U.S. negotiating priority concerning the cattle and beef sector.
The United States should also modify its plan to allow imports from Canada of cattle and
beef derived from cattle over thirty months of age, and instead allow only cattle and beef from
cattle born after January 1, 2003. Five of the ten Canadian animals found to be stricken with
BSE were born after 1999, despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers
March 1, 1999 to be the effective date of enforcement of the Canadian ban on ruminant feed.
Two of the Canadian BSE cases were in animals born in 2001, and one case is from an animal
born as late as 2002. Clearly, the Canadian feed ban was not fully effective by March 1, 1999.
Modifying the U.S. entry requirements to allow only cattle and beef from cattle born after
January 1, 2003 better assures the integrity of Canadian shipments.The United States should also consider additional methods, such as voluntary BSE testing
of animals, to strengthen consumer confidence and establish beyond reproach a U.S.
commitment to transparency.The United States should implement mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef.
Providing transparency for consumers, enabling them to make informed choices, ought to be
common sense.Finally, the United States should also work to remove the multiple tariff, non-tariff, and
subsidy-based distortions that undermine U.S. ranchers and inhibit a competitive market for beef
and cattle.
UNITED STATES CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 339 - San Lucas, CA 93954 Email: usca@uscattlemen.org - Web Site: www.uscattlemen.org Contact: Jess Peterson 202/870-3867 or Doug Zalesky 970/759-8626 November 16, 2007
USCA (November 16, 2007) - Colorado cattle producer, U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA) Director Region IV, and USCA International Trade Committee co-chairman, Doug Zalesky, testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Thursday, November 15 in Washington, DC. The hearing focused on the effects of animal health, sanitary, food safety and other measures on U.S. beef exports. Zalesky provided an overview of the U.S. cattle industry to the ITC as well as the obstacles U.S. cattle producers face with regard to trade policy. Zalesky's testimony included the following comments. "A brief review of global and U.S. statistics tell a grim story. Today, as global production and consumption rise, U.S. exports of both beef and cattle are barely more than half of 2002 levels. In contrast, U.S. imports of beef already exceed 2002 levels and are still rising. Meanwhile, though total cattle imports are lower than in 2002, imports from Canada - the source of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in North America - are rising and rapidly regaining 2002 levels. Behind these aggregate numbers, the economic effect of BSE can be more clearly seen. Although global markets have shown signs of warming up to renewed U.S. exports, the effects of BSE-related barriers continue to stifle U.S. export prospects. Japan and Korea, the historically the two largest U.S. export markets by value, remain largely closed to U.S. beef." "Unfortunately, BSE-related barriers are not the only regulatory barriers affecting U.S. exports of beef. The European Union (EU) has long banned U.S. exports of hormone-fed beef, despite a decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body that the ban violates EU obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The EU has remained defiantly out of compliance on this since 1999. "High tariffs and agriculture subsidies in other parts of the world also play a role in the global market. The U.S. maintains an open import market, through the use of a generous tariff rate quota for beef, in which over-quota shipments face a 26.4% tariff. By comparison, tariffs elsewhere in the world average approximately 85%. "Subsidies, too, are a major part of the problem. Several of the largest producing nations, including Brazil, Australia, Canada and the EU, directly subsidize cattle and beef production. "Australia and Canada also operate state trade enterprises (STE) that enjoy monopoly control over grain production. Through these STEs, cattle producers in both countries enjoy access to cheap feed grains that artificially lower the costs of production. "Finally, dozens of bilateral free trade agreements, particularly between the EU and other nations, fail to include agricultural tariffs. This failure exacerbates the closed nature of the global marketplace and further channel global exports to the open U.S. market that would otherwise be destined to third-country markets." Zalesky noted that these problems could be solved by harmonizing BSE standards and allowing voluntary BSE testing of animals to strengthen consumer confidence and establish beyond reproach a U.S. commitment to transparency. "Furthermore, the U.S. should implement mandatory country of origin labeling for beef," he continued. "Labeling will provide transparency for consumers, enabling them to make informed choices." Zalesky, a veteran advocate of trade policy for the cattle industry, also had meetings on Capitol Hill where he informed congressional staffers about USCA's international trade policy, including USCA's opposition to regionalization of beef trade with Argentina related to animal health disease issues. "USCA strongly opposes any attempt to weaken oversight or regulation of trade with Argentina because doing so could expose the American herd to foot and mouth disease, a highly contagious infection," said Zalesky. "We believe that proper enforcement of regionalized trade would be impossible, opening the door for these regions to become gateways for beef from non-approved areas of Argentina and Brazil, another country with serious foot and mouth disease issues. Time and time again, Argentina has proven that it cannot be trusted to live up to its promises. Let's not forget that this is a nation that heavily subsidizes its agricultural industries and routinely defaults on international loans." Zalesky holds a PhD in bovine reproductive physiology from Texas A & M University and a masters degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Zalesky is the immediate past president of Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association.
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