An Appeal to Protect International Food Assistance
By Elizabeth Westendorf, USW Assistant Director of Policy On Feb. 12, President Trump unveiled a FY2019 budget proposal that included several areas of support for agriculture. It was disappointing, however, to see that the proposal eliminates federal funding for Food for Peace, the most effective U.S. emergency food assistance program helping populations in need around […]
USW Participating in Wheat Education Event on Capitol Hill
Between record low commodity prices, extreme natural disasters and unfair trade practices in the global marketplace, wheat growers across the country have experienced a multitude of challenges the past couple of years. To educate the Administration, Members of Congress and their staff on just how expansive and important the entire wheat value chain is to […]
U.S. Wheat Farmers Also Need FTAs in Africa
According to the United Nations, over a quarter of the world’s population will live in Africa by 2050. That will be something like 2.5 billion people. With less than 4 percent of the world’s wheat production, Africa will require significant imports to feed its growing population. A major factor in in ensuring a predictable, stable […]
Glimmer of Hope in the EU on Plant Breeding Innovations
By Elizabeth Westendorf, USW Assistant Director of Policy Last week, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) published a legal opinion from its Advocate General that gene editing techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 should not be included in the EU’s regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While the ECJ is not required to follow this legal opinion, in […]
The Year Ahead in Trade Policy
By Ben Conner, USW Director of Policy U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) prioritizes trade policies that support reducing the cost of getting wheat from U.S. farmers to their customers around the world. A time-tested method for doing that is through trade negotiations and agreements. USW will be looking for a more forward-looking trade negotiating agenda from […]
Let’s Level the Playing Field for Wheat
By Gordon Stoner, President of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and a wheat farmer from Outlook, Mont. This op-ed first appeared in “The Hill.” The United States is known for producing the highest quality wheat in the world, yet when U.S. farmers market their wheat at a Canadian elevator, it is automatically labeled […]
Hoping the Good News on EU Re-registration of Glyphosate is Not Meaningless
By Ben Conner, USW Director of Policy Many European farmers breathed a sigh of relief this week as the European Commission chose to extend registration of the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate for five years. But farmers in Europe and elsewhere around the world are justifiably worried about the challenges represented by the European Union’s pesticide policy. […]
New Study Examines Shifts in Global Agricultural Trade
Participants at the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council annual meeting, Nov. 14 and 15, 2017, in Baltimore, Md., got an early look at a new study indicating that developing countries have been competing quite effectively in global agricultural trade. In addition, the study showed that agricultural products are often classified as “sensitive products” in trade […]
Success in the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement
By Elizabeth Westendorf, USW Assistant Director of Policy In 2006, the United States signed the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, making it the first U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) that did not fully eliminate tariffs on wheat. Instead, the FTA included a tariff rate quota (TRQ) for U.S. wheat, which is now set at 360,000 metric […]
Vietnam Lifts Restrictions on U.S. Wheat Imports
Recently, Vietnam’s government advised the USDA that it would lift restrictions on imported U.S. food grains and feed grains. This change helped open an opportunity for Vietnamese flour millers who recently bought a large volume of U.S. soft white (SW) wheat, the first substantial sale of U.S. wheat to the Vietnam market in several months. […]
