The beef industry’s Joint International Markets Committee discussed a host of important trade topics as the Cattle Industry Annual Convention came to a close last weekend in San Antonio. USMEF Chairman Jim Peterson, a rancher from Buffalo, Mont., provided the committee with a report on the work of the Meat Industry Trade Coalition, an industry effort designed to create a more unified voice for improving foreign market access for U.S. meat products.
Peterson said it is his hope that the work of the coalition will lead to a more incremental, market-specific approach to market access negotiations for U.S. beef. He made particular note of the plans for top officials from the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to discuss beef trade with Japan later this week in Tokyo. Japan currently limits U.S. beef imports to beef derived from cattle less than 21 months of age, which hampers the industry’s ability to meet Japan’s growing demand for U.S. products.
Audio Link: Jim Peterson Addresses Joint International Markets Committee on Meat Industry Trade Coalition
The committee also heard from Jonghyun Choi (pron: YUNG-YOON CHOY), minister for economic affairs for the Korean Embassy inWashington,D.C. Choi strongly urged the committee to support a resolution submitted by the Nebraska Cattlemen that called on the U.S. Congress to immediately ratify the U.S.-Korean Free Trade Agreement. He warned committee members that if the U.S.-Korea agreement continues to languish while Korea engages in FTA negotiations with Australia, U.S. beef could be placed at a price disadvantage due to reduced tariffs on Australian products. The committee unanimously supported the resolution, which was approved the following day by the full NCBA Board of Directors.
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.