Soybean growers like House Ag letter and Cuban bill, want Europeans to approve biotech traits
February 13, 2015 |06:18 PM
The American Soybean Association has praised the House Agriculture Committee for urging the House Budget Committee to take farm bill savings into account when planning for reconciliation, and also praised Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and others for introducing a bill to end the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
American Soybean Association President Wade Cowan, a Brownfield, Texas, farmer, said in a release that ASA had supported the more than $16 billion in farm program spending reductions in the farm bill, and that “now is hardly the time to trim pieces off the farm safety net or from the programs that help us address our trade and conservation goals.”
In another release, Cowan said that the bill to end the Cuban embargo would help soybean farmers because “we have been previously able to sell our products to Cuba, but only under restrictions, so likely the most significant part of the bill is that it allows U.S. farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses to have normal business and trade relationships with importers in Cuba, just like we do with almost every other nation, including normal banking, credit, and market development relationships."
Cowan noted that the bill would allow the industry to conduct market development activities in Cuba, make available credit guarantee programs and make permanent the elimination of restrictions such as the “cash in advance” interpretation that President Barack Obama recently addressed in his executive order.
Finally, ASA and other farm groups wrote the European Commission urging the approval of biotech traits and import authorizations for 13 new biotechnology products, including soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton.
In the letter, the groups urged the commission to respect the EU’s obligations under the World Trade Organization with regard to timelier biotech deregulation decisions. Those obligations were reaffirmed by the WTO in a 2006 dispute settlement decision that found the EU was not complying with its international obligations to consider import authorizations on a timely basis, the groups said.
▪ American Soybean Association — Letter to European Commission
American Soybean Association President Wade Cowan, a Brownfield, Texas, farmer, said in a release that ASA had supported the more than $16 billion in farm program spending reductions in the farm bill, and that “now is hardly the time to trim pieces off the farm safety net or from the programs that help us address our trade and conservation goals.”
In another release, Cowan said that the bill to end the Cuban embargo would help soybean farmers because “we have been previously able to sell our products to Cuba, but only under restrictions, so likely the most significant part of the bill is that it allows U.S. farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses to have normal business and trade relationships with importers in Cuba, just like we do with almost every other nation, including normal banking, credit, and market development relationships."
Cowan noted that the bill would allow the industry to conduct market development activities in Cuba, make available credit guarantee programs and make permanent the elimination of restrictions such as the “cash in advance” interpretation that President Barack Obama recently addressed in his executive order.
Finally, ASA and other farm groups wrote the European Commission urging the approval of biotech traits and import authorizations for 13 new biotechnology products, including soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton.
In the letter, the groups urged the commission to respect the EU’s obligations under the World Trade Organization with regard to timelier biotech deregulation decisions. Those obligations were reaffirmed by the WTO in a 2006 dispute settlement decision that found the EU was not complying with its international obligations to consider import authorizations on a timely basis, the groups said.
▪ American Soybean Association — Letter to European Commission
