NPPC leads the charge asking USTR to ‘recommit’ to aggressive trade agenda | NPPC’s Dr. Johnson represents U.S. pork at Codex meeting on contaminates in foods | Personnel moves bolster NPPC’s public policy profile | USDA Swine Contract Library highlights usage, improvement opportunities | USDA holds Data Users’ Meeting following NASS program change announcements | Tai testifies on Administration’s 2024 trade agenda

NPPC Leads the Charge Asking USTR to ‘Recommit’ to Aggressive Trade Agenda

What happened: NPPC led 30 other agricultural organizations in urging the Biden administration’s Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to recommit to an aggressive trade agenda, hold trading partners to their commitments, and improve enforcement mechanisms for existing trade agreements.

In a letter sent to USTR’s Katherine Tai, the groups asked that she engage on trade policies “to bolster our global competitive standing around the world.”

They pointed out that U.S. agriculture is “foundational to the American economy,” supporting more than 48 million U.S. jobs, contributing $2.8 trillion in wages in 2023, and generating over $9.6 trillion in total economic output. Agricultural exports, which were more than $175 billion last year, account for about 20 percent of total production.

Despite the impressive numbers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated a fiscal 2023 – Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023 – agricultural trade deficit of $16.6 billion. It is only the fourth time over the past 55 years the balance of trade in farm goods has been in the red, and USDA is forecasting a bigger deficit for fiscal 2024.

NPPC’s take: NPPC has been urging USTR to open new and expand existing markets for U.S. pork through comprehensive trade agreements that eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to American products. It supports enforcing international trade rules and ensuring that U.S. trading partners live up to their trade commitments.

What it means for producers: U.S. agricultural trade is vital to America’s farmers and the overall U.S. economy. Over the past four decades – particularly since it began negotiating free trade agreements – the United States has had agricultural trade surpluses almost every year. For the U.S. pork industry, exports contribute significantly to producers’ bottom line. Last year, when producers shipped a record $8.16 billion of product to foreign destinations, those exports added the equivalent of $63.76 to the price producers received for each hog marketed and accounted for a record 29.6% of total production.

NPPC’s Dr. Johnson Represents U.S. Pork at Codex Meeting on Contaminants in Foods

What happened: NPPC Director of Food Policy Dr. Ashley Johnson represented the U.S. pork industry at the 17^th session of the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF). Overseen by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Codex is the international food safety standards-setting body.

The contaminants committee met to:

• Establish or endorse permitted maximum levels or guideline levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.
• Prepare priority lists of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants for risk assessment by the Joint FAO-WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.
• Consider methods of analysis and sampling for determining contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.
• Consider and elaborate standards or codes of practice for related subjects.
• Consider other matters assigned to it by Codex in relation to contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.

Maximum levels for lead, aflatoxin contamination, alkaloids in foods, and emerging issues in food and feed safety, such as PFAS, were debated and discussed.  Recognizing the importance of current and emerging issues facing pork and pork products, Dr. Johnson represented NPPC in the organization’s first time participating in the CCCF meeting. She discussed with delegates the pork industry’s commitment to producing a safe product and advocated for science-based decisions to continue to support and expand our export market.

NPPC’s take: NPPC supports the work of and is actively engaged in Codex, which provides the U.S. pork industry opportunities to weigh in on standards affecting the safety of food, food production, and international trade. NPPC also collaborates with food and agriculture groups in several countries to gather consensus on the Codex’s international standards and guidelines.

What it means for producers: Codex Alimentarius helps protect the health of consumers, facilitate international trade, and ensure fair practices in international food trade. Standards adopted by the commission have wide-ranging applications, as they are used throughout international trade negotiations as baselines for trade text.

Personnel Moves Bolster NPPC’s Public Policy Profile

What happened: NPPC recently made several personnel moves in its Washington, DC, public policy office to enhance the organization’s advocacy efforts.

Joining the organization as vice president of strategic engagement effective April 22 is Andy Curliss, who will oversee efforts focused on expanding the reach and influence of the U.S. pork industry.

NPPC’s Maria C. Zieba was appointed vice president of government affairs, overseeing the organization’s international affairs and domestic policy teams. Most recently, Zieba was vice president of international affairs and served as interim vice president of domestic policy.

The organization also promoted lobbyist Chase Adams to assistant vice president of domestic policy from senior director of congressional relations. He leads NPPC’s congressional advocacy and engagement, ensuring the pork industry’s interests are effectively represented and championed on Capitol Hill.

NPPC’s take: “The addition of Andy, as well as Maria and Chase’s promotions, position NPPC to better and more strategically advocate for the interests of more than 60,000 U.S. pork producers domestically and on the global stage,” said NPPC CEO Bryan Humphreys.

USDA Swine Contract Library Review Highlights Usage, Improvement Opportunities

What happened: Kansas State University and Iowa State University researchers published a review of the USDA Swine Contract Library (SCL), offering the first comprehensive study of the library since it was created through the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999.

Commissioned by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the study found the SCL can be useful for producers when negotiating contracts; however, the current format limits uptake of information.

The authors recommend several action items for USDA’s consideration, including:

• Reorganizing the current library to make information easier to find,
• Providing timestamp details for when new specifications are added, and
• Creating a user-friendly dashboard to summarize contract specifications, among other changes.

The authors also found near-consensus among market participants that preserving the current level of contract detail while improving the collection and dissemination of information was of high importance.

NPPC’s take: NPPC applauds USDA’s efforts to review the current SCL and supports the implementation of changes that would improve the usability, accuracy, and producer understanding of contract library information. NPPC has been engaged with USDA AMS and provided feedback to the project researchers during the review process.

What it means for producers: The SCL provides producers and other market participants with a “catalog” of the types of contracts currently offered by packers to swine producers. The SCL is intended to aid in the price discovery process by providing equal access to market information for all participants. However, since its inception, no funding has been specifically directed to the SCL for development and maintenance; and prior to this study, little has been known about how the industry uses the information.

USDA Holds Data Users’ Meeting Following NASS Program Change Announcements

What happened: In recent weeks, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced several changes to its data collection programs and reports, including the discontinuation of some surveys. This week, USDA held its annual Spring Data Users’ Meeting, providing updates from various agencies.

USDA NASS summarized the following changes directly impacting pork industry data:

• NASS will reduce the number of individually published states on the Hogs and Pigs reports from 50 to 16.
  • The 16 published states will be Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Texas. The 34 non-published states will be included in an “other states” total.
  • This change is a result of NASS’s five-year program review and will most directly impact the December Hogs & Pigs Report – as well as the Annual Meat Animals Production, Disposition, and Income Estimates.
• NASS will not publish livestock county estimates beginning in 2024, due to budget constraints.
• Not directly impacting pork industry data but likely of interest, NASS will not collect data – nor publish – the July Cattle report and will no longer publish small grain and row crop county estimates beginning with the 2024 crop year, also due to budget-related changes.

What it means for producers: Pork producers and other industry participants rely on timely, accurate, and useful statistics to understand market dynamics, supply and demand conditions, and to monitor important industry trends. These changes will limit the ability to analyze inventory, production, and income changes at the state level.

Tai Testifies on Administration’s 2024 Trade Agenda

What happened: U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai testified on both sides of Capitol Hill on the Biden administration’s 2024 trade agenda.

In appearances Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee and Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Finance – the two panels with jurisdiction over trade – Tai told lawmakers: “[E]nforcing the trade rules we have continues to be a priority this year for the administration. We will continue to level the playing field for American workers and businesses. We are vigorously enforcing our trade agreements, defending American jobs, and making sure more people enjoy the benefits of trade.”

Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) asked Tai what USTR is doing to gain new market access for agricultural producers, mentioning Taiwan’s barriers to U.S. pork. The USTR ambassador said the administration is negotiating a second agreement with Taiwan on labor, environment, and agriculture, including addressing rules that limit U.S. pork and beef.

NPPC’s take: NPPC has been urging USTR to open new and expand existing markets for U.S. pork through comprehensive trade agreements that eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers. In a story above, NPPC joined other agricultural organizations in asking USTR to adopt a more aggressive trade agenda, hold trading partners to their commitments, and improve enforcement mechanisms for existing trade agreements.

What it means for producers: U.S. agricultural trade is vital to America’s farmers and the overall U.S. economy. Agricultural trade has grown significantly over the past four decades because of the comprehensive trade agreements the United States has negotiated. Rather than formal trade agreements, the Biden administration has relied on dialogues and trade frameworks, which don’t require congressional involvement and don’t address tariff barriers.