Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: November 20, 2003

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns

November 20, 2003

Craig Utter and Mike Kelly flew to Washington D.C. this week to spend a few days in the shoes of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director, Steve Williams. This rare opportunity was set up by the innovative "Walk a Mile in My Boots" program, which gives U.S. cattlemen and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) employees an opportunity to conduct a job-exchange. Talk about going to directly to the top! Mr. Utter and Mr. Kelly switched jobs with the Director himself, and are learning a great deal about what goes on at the national headquarters. They talked to Director Williams about life on their ranches, and how the FWS can work with cattlemen to improve the relationships with FWS employees. Today, the cattlemen had a fisheries and habitat conservation briefing, law enforcement briefing, and a national wildlife refuges briefing at the FWS headquarters. Tomorrow they are meeting on endangered species issues with FWS officials, then speaking at a presentation on the "Walk a Mile in My Boots Program." New applications for the program continue to arrive, to sign up for your swap, go to http://walkamile.fws.gov for more information.

Cattlemen are applauding tonight passage of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (H.R. 1904). The bill was passed by the House-Senate conference committee late today, and following final approval by the House, it will be on its way to the President’s desk. The Healthy Forests Initiative has been a top priority for the Administration as well as key members of Congress. In separate statements, both House Resource Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) lauded this action as a "first step" towards improving the management of our public lands. NCBA and the Public Lands Council (PLC) have long supported the bill which will enhance the condition of public grazing lands and better protect the homes, farms, ranches and communities on adjacent private lands. Under this initiative, land managers will have the necessary tools and programs to better care for and protect forests and rangelands from threats such as wildfire, disease, insects, and invasive weeds.

The FY2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill is currently in conference, and NCBA is hoping that differences in the House and Senate versions will be worked out this week. We are carefully monitoring these discussion as the agriculture appropriations bill contains many provisions effecting cattlemen – including differences in the two bills on whether or not to provide funding for implementation of the mandatory country-of-origin labeling law. NCBA continues to be gravely concerned with the prospect of implementing this flawed mandatory law. We maintain that a voluntary, market-driven, producer-led country-of-origin labeling program will allow producers to participate at their choosing without incurring mandatory costs, and without allowing retailers and packers to call for access to the production records of producers. Cattlemen continue to hope that Congress will find a way to re-work the law so it helps – not hinders – the profitability of cow-calf producers.

NCBA staff members Bryan Dierlam and Errol Rice represented livestock producers at a meeting on country-of-origin labeling with government agency staff on Monday. The meeting, hosted by the Small Business Administration (SMA), was called to discuss impacts of the mandatory country-of-origin labeling on the small business community. Most cow/calf operations are designated "small businesses" as defined by the SMA.

Producer Comments Needed:

The USDA released its proposed mandatory country-of-origin labeling law on October 30, and cattle producers are encouraged to review the proposed rule and cost benefit analysis and submit comments via e-mail to cool@usda.gov or send by mail to Country of Origin Labeling Program; USDA Agricultural Marketing Service; 1400 Independence Ave., SW Stop 0249; Washington, D.C. 20250-0249, no later than Dec. 29, 2003. The proposed rule and USDA news release can be accessed on the USDA web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov.

NCBA continues to monitor ongoing negotiations on a free trade agreement with Central America (CAFTA). Negotiations are expected to conclude in December for the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Ambassador Zoellick met with the trade ministers of these five countries to advance the final round of negotiations to take place during the week of December 8th, 2003 in Washington, D.C. We continue efforts in monitoring and advising on this trade agreement to assure that any trade initiatives reduce barriers to access for U.S. beef.

Dominican Republic Trade:
Ambassador Zoellick met with Sonia Guzman, Secretary of Industry and Commerce of the Dominican Republic this week during trade talks in Miami. The 90-day notice and consultation period just ended regarding this agreement and it was announced that the first negotiating round will take place in January. The Administration plans to integrate the Dominican Republic into the free trade agreement being negotiated between the U.S. and five nations in Central America. This could open export market opportunities for U.S. cattle producers. NCBA and the U.S. Meat Export Federation submitted joint comments recently to USTR regarding initiation of free trade negotiations with the Dominican Republic. For cattle producers, the Dominican Republic would offer export opportunities for high quality fresh/chilled and frozen beef sold to the hotel and restaurant industry. Currently, trade barriers in the form of high duties, non-tariff barriers, and slow or non-issuance of import licenses limit U.S. beef exports. We will continue to make recommendations to the U.S. government on this possible export market opportunity for U.S. cattlemen.

On November 18th, USTR Zoellick officially notified the U.S. Congress of the Administration’s intent to launch an FTA with Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The Administration plans to begin negotiations initially with Colombia and Peru during the second quarter of 2004. The letter states that the Administration will include those countries at a later date that need more time to prepare for such negotiations. During 2002, the U.S. exported $9.228 million in fresh/chilled/frozen beef, variety meats, prepared/preserved beef and veal, edible tallow, breeding cattle, hides and skins, and bovine semen and embryos. NCBA and other members of the Washington D.C. beef trade community asked the Bush Administration earlier this month to consider an FTA with Colombia and several other markets that will offer the best export market opportunities for U.S. cattle producers.

This week, the Administration also announced its intent to initiate negotiations for an FTA with the Republic of Panama. It is expected that these negotiations will also be launched sometime during the second quarter of 2004. Tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers currently restrict U.S. beef exports to Panama, and NCBA will work to eliminate these barriers during the negotiations.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife is considering a proposal to remove the gray wolf from the list of endangered species. NCBA and the PLC are attending a number of meetings on this issue which is of the utmost importance to cattlemen. NCBA and PLC policy is in favor of delisting the gray wolf and turning management of the species over to the states.

The President signed into law S. 313, the "Animal Drug User Fee Act of 2003," which amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a program of fees relating to animal drugs. NCBA has been a strong supporter of the legislation, which will streamline the approval process for animal drugs.

According to the USDA, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced a unified food safety research agenda to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of food safety programs. The USDA says "the research agenda is one of several key initiatives USDA is implementing to enhance food safety and improve food inspection systems." NCBA has been encouraging the USDA to take such an action, and we are encouraged they have made this announcement. In previous comments, we gave the USDA a list of our priorities on this important unified research agenda for food safety priorities. According to the USDA, the agenda includes research aimed to reduce or eliminate key foodborne pathogens in meat, poultry, fresh produce, seafood and ready-to-eat foods. The complete USDA unified food safety research agenda is available at http://www.reeusda.gov/ree/.

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