The Cattlemen’s Capitol Concerns (CCC) is a weekly report from Washington, D.C., giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

Thailand Trade Resumes!  USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service updated its Export Requirements for Meat and Poultry Products to include details on the U.S. agreement with Thailand. This allows the United States to resume shipments to Thailand of U.S. boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age.

A framework for trade resumption was originally announced October 20, 2005, but movement of product was delayed due to continued tensions surrounding the U.S.-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.  These negotiations continue to be bogged down by Thailand's reluctance to agree to key negotiating provisions in several sectors, and it’s possible these negotiations could be put on hold indefinitely. 

Thanks in large part to input and pressure from key Congressional leadership, U.S. beef could be moving to Thailand this week.  In 2003 the U.S. exported nearly 1.66 million pounds of beef and variety meats to Thailand, valued at just over $2.8 million.

Costa Rica Lifts Ban on U.S. Beef:  Costa Rica announced February 13 it would resume trade of boneless beef, tongues, kidneys, livers and hearts from the United States.  USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service updated its Export Requirements for Meat and Poultry Products to include details on the terms of trade with Costa Rica. In 2003, the United States shipped just over 615,000 pounds of beef and beef products to Costa Rica, worth approximately $960,000.

Costa Rica is the final nation involved in the Central American - Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) to lift its ban on U.S. beef, but still remains the only CAFTA-DR nation that has not yet ratified the agreement.  The recent national election has left the Costa Rican government in limbo, suggesting that we may see further delays in CAFTA ratification and implementation.  Once CAFTA-DR is implemented cattlemen can expect to see trade with Costa Rica increase as the agreement will provide duty-free access for high-quality U.S. beef (prime and choice) destined for Costa Rica’s growing tourism industry.

Tax Reconciliation: The Senate named conferees this week to H.R. 4297, the Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005.  Senate conferees are Finance Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Finance Committee Ranking Minority Member Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).  They join House conferees Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Cal.), Ways and Means Ranking Member Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), and Reps. Jim McCrery (R-La.), Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Pete Stark (D-Cal.).

The House passed H.R. 4297 in December 2005 which contains many tax provisions of interest to cattlemen.  The Senate passed their bill (S. 2020) in November 2005, but the Senate bill does not contain the same provisions that cattlemen are supporting in the House.  The conference committee will resolve differences in these bills.  In a letter to conferees, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said he wants the conference report to contain the extension of capital gains and dividends tax relief that are in the House bill.  Leadership says they hope to have the conference completed before March recess.

FY2007 Budget/Government Programs Reviewed: Tax policies and budget items of importance to cattle producers were discussed this week during a House Ways & Means Committee hearing on President Bush's fiscal year 2007 budget. Treasury Secretary John Snow testified February 15 before House members regarding details of the President’s budget proposals noting the Administration has identified programs that should be terminated or reduced because they aren’t performing.  A new website (www.ExpectMore.gov) evaluates which government programs are successful and which “fall short.” NCBA has also created a quick-view webpage review of their different agency/department ratings; check it out at: http://hill.beef.org/track/ExpectMore.asp.

Death Tax Repeal is Priority This Year: Treasury Secretary John Snow told House members this week that it would be a mistake not to fully repeal the Death Tax. The President’s FY 2007 budget establishes a Dynamic Analysis Division which will study big tax changes to help gain a better understanding on how to score tax bills within the Treasury department. The Death Tax will be one of the tax policies analyzed.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also said February 13 that "the days of the Death Tax are numbered" and that he will bring repeal legislation to the floor this May. Frist noted he is making passage of permanent Death Tax Repeal one of the Senate’s priorities in 2006, and he will "do everything in his power to bury the Death Tax once and for all!" NCBA will continue to lead the fight for full, permanent repeal of this devastating tax that hits cattle operations after the death of a family member. The House passed permanent repeal legislation last summer, and cattlemen are looking for Senate action this year.

Portman, Congress Outline Trade Priorities: The two committees that have jurisdiction over trade policy in the U.S. Congress, the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Committee, both held hearings this week to hear testimony from U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman.  This is an annual opportunity for the Administration to lay out its trade strategy, and for Senators and Congressmen to highlight their trade priorities for the coming year.  A copy of Portman’s presentation is posted at www.ustr.gov.

Portman outlined the top three priorities of the 2006 U.S. Trade Agenda: 1) Global Trade Talks including Doha Development Agenda and WTO Accessions; 2) Bi-lateral and Regional Agreements; and 3) Enforcing Trade Laws and Strengthening Trade Agreements. Opening the borders to U.S. beef was also a priority issue mentioned at the hearings.

Pointed questions and comments about beef trade were raised by Committee members.  Of interest to cattlemen, Congress raised issues on market reopenings with Japan, Korea and China, WTO Agriculture negotiations, Korean free trade agreement, CAFTA-DR implementation and SPS issues, and Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.  For more information, visit http://hill.beef.org/.

Ag/FDA Appropriations:  U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns testified February 15 before the House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee on the FY 2007 USDA budget.  The $93 billion ag budget this year is a reduction from $94.5 billion last year and reflects continuing efforts to curb the Federal deficit. 

Of interest to cattlemen: 

• $987 million for USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) budget - an increase of $35 million over 2006.  Johanns highlighted the fact that the industry has continued to reduce the incidences of foodborne illness from E. coli O157:H7. 
• $322 million for the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative which will enhance FSIS's ability to detect and respond to food emergencies and to improve APHIS' ability to safeguard the livestock sector through enhanced surveillance of animal health, including wildlife.  Other components of the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative include the animal research lab in Ames, Iowa, and the National Veterinary Stockpile. 

The Secretary also highlighted efforts in the areas of conservation, agricultural research, rural development, and trade and the continuing efforts to reopen Japan and other markets to U.S. beef. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acting Director Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach testified February 16 before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee regarding FDA's budget.  Many questions during this hearing focused on FDA’s proposed expansion of the Feed Rule.  Dr. Eschenbach said he expected the final rule to be in place by July.

South Korean Trade: NCBA continues to work on South Korean trade issues after a group of Korean cattle producers visited NCBA offices February 10. During the meeting, NCBA reiterated the importance of the full resumption of bone-in U.S. beef trade. Along with the partial ban on U.S. beef, South Korea imposes some of the highest tariffs on beef imports in the world, bound at 40 percent. NCBA is reiterating their support of a free trade agreement with South Korea on Capitol Hill but expects to see the full re-opening of the South Korean market to all U.S. beef, significant reductions of Korea’s tariffs, and resolution of important sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues.

In testimony before the House and Senate this week, Ambassador Portman noted that science supports the resumption of the bone-in beef exports to South Korea and other nations, noting “international standards support the position that we have taken.” 

Japanese Trade: Cattlemen are waiting for a report from USDA regarding the January 20 bone-in veal shipment that did not follow technical export trade requirements for shipment to Japan. NCBA considers this temporary halt in U.S. beef exports to Japan a disappointing setback and is urging the resumption of trade. Government investigations regarding the incident continue.

Members of Congress expressed frustration with the situation this week during trade hearings. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman told House members “We've made some great progress just in the last couple of months on beef. We hope to make some more progress in the next couple of months with regard to a number of different countries. Japan was a step forward and then a step back. We're hoping to be able to restore that market soon after what I'm sure will be a very comprehensive and objective report by the Department of Agriculture.”

International Trade Meetings: NCBA participated in a Washington International Trade Association (WITA) panel discussion February 15 regarding an annual overview of the Hill's trade agenda. Top trade counsels from the House Ways & Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee spoke at the event. The discussion covered multi and bilateral trade agreements, ongoing FTA negotiations, China and other country-specific issues, and many more prominent trade issues which the Congress may address in the coming year.  Visit http://www.wita.org for more information.

Farm Foundation Farm Bill Forum:  NCBA participated in a Farm Bill Forum hosted by Farm Foundation on February 15.  Former congressmen Charlie Stenholm and Larry Combest led the bipartisan forum and provided a history of the 2002 Farm Bill with a look ahead to 2007. Future forums are being planned with focus geared to specific farm bill issues.  For more information, visit www.farmfoundation.org.

USDA Ag Outlook Forum: USDA is hosting the 82nd annual Ag Outlook Forum this week, February 16-17. Speakers include top agency officials including Secretary Mike Johanns as well as industry analysts, business leaders, farmers and ranchers, and agricultural experts. Educational forums and meetings are focusing on issues including: Rural Development, Farm Policy, Conservation, Economic Outlook, Trade, Animal Health and Bio-tech Development. For more information, go to: www.usda.gov/oce/forum/.

Codex Meetings in Japan:  NCBA Director of Food Policy Leah Wilkinson is in Japan this week attending the Codex Alimentarius Task Force on Biotechnology's Working Group on Animals.  The group is reviewing a draft document of guidelines for conducting a food safety assessment of r-DNA animals.  The task force decided in September 2005 to take up a recombinant DNA (r-DNA) Animal Project; a working group was established with 18 member countries (including the United States) and 7 non-governmental organizations.  The group is chaired by Australia and co-chaired by Japan.  Visit www.codexalimentarius.net for more information.

WTO Meetings in Geneva: Representatives from across the globe are meeting in Geneva this week to discuss the way forward with World Trade Organization (WTO) talks. These meetings are considered to be 'under the radar' meetings with key negotiating officials including U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator Richard Crowder. Priority is keeping the U.S. proposal front-and-center and negotiating towards agreement as soon as possible. April 30th is considered the deadline for resolving agricultural trade issues. Crowder has urged the Doha Round of the WTO must be completed before the expiration of Trade Promotion Authority in 2007. The European Union continues its refusal to cut tariffs and lower agriculture trade barriers. 

Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative:  USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced funding for the “Management and Control of Invasive Species Affecting Grazing Land." The purpose of the invasive species competitive grants is to encourage and support the management and control of invasive species affecting grazing lands. The announcement says priority consideration will be given to western range lands and use of the “cooperative conservation” approach (collaborating and working with others on projects) is strongly encouraged. 

NRCS will award up to $4 million through a nationwide competitive grants process and pay up to 50 percent of the cost of projects selected through the process, not to exceed $500,000 per grant award. Applications are requested from eligible government or non-government organizations or individuals for competitive consideration of grant awards for projects between one and three years in duration. The deadline for applications is April 3, 2006.  More information is posted at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/glci or on the National Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) webpage at www.glci.org.

SRM Meeting:  NCBA Director of Legislative Issues Stacey Katseanes was in Vancouver, British Columbia this week for the Society of Range Management’s (SRM) 59th Annual Meeting, February 12-19.  Established in 1948, SRM has over 4,000 members in 48 countries.  Their mission is to promote and enhance the stewardship of rangelands to meet human needs based on science and sound policy.  SRM's members are land managers, scientists, educators, students, producers and conservationists – a diverse membership guided by a professional code of ethics and unified by a strong land ethic. For more information, visit http://www.rangelands.org.

Ag Leaders Discuss the Future of Ag Trade at Policy Forum:  NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Truitt spoke at a Policy Forum on February 14 hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  The Forum, titled “the Global Market for Agriculture: Can the U.S. Succeed?” included such notable speakers as Ag Secretary Mike Johanns, Senate Ag Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), and ambassadors from Australia, Brazil, and the European Union. Truitt joined representatives from the corn, dairy, produce, sugar and wheat sectors for a roundtable discussion on Domestic Challenges, Opportunities and Outlook for U.S. Agriculture in the Doha Round and in the 2007 Farm Bill. For more information, visit http://www.millerchevalier.com/events/detail.aspx?fcid=411.

NCBA hosts Nebraska LEAD Program: NCBA’s Washington D.C. office hosted the Nebraska LEAD fellows February 13. The Nebraska LEAD program “fellows” are involved in production agriculture, agribusiness, or a closely related occupation, and are selected for the two-year LEAD program based on their proven leadership potential, capability, and a demonstrated commitment to Nebraska.  NCBA’s Jay Truitt and Gregg Doud briefed the group on legislative and regulatory issues NCBA is addressing in Washington D.C.

BSE Surveillance:  USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program continues having already tested over half million high-risk animals for BSE since June 1, 2004.  As of today, the program has tested 620,494 targeted animals at highest risk for BSE and has found only one confirmed case, evidence that our safeguards are working and the prevalence of this disease in the U.S. is extremely low.  Testing 268,500 animals can detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level.

Media Contact:
Tanya Augustson or Karen Batra at 202-347-0228; taugustson@beef.org or kbatra@beef.org