TRADE UPDATE

Food & Agriculture
Nov. 5, 2024

By Kristy Goodfellow, Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs and Ameya Khanapurkar, Trade Intern

HIGHLIGHTS

• World Food Prize: The 2024 Borlaug Dialogue convened Oct. 29-31 in Iowa under the theme “Seeds of Opportunity: Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy.” Food Prize laureates addressed critical issues plaguing low-income countries including hunger, climate change, and debt crisis.
• Trade Promotion: The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the Food for Opportunity (FFO) program. The U.S. Trade Representative secured renewed market access for U.S. apples in Indonesia.
• WTO: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is contributing $180,000 to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to help developing economies meet international food safety, animal, and plant health standards and facilitate safe trade.
• US-Chile: USTR engaged with Chile regarding the environmental chapter of the U.S.-–Chile Free Trade Agreement.
• US-Egypt: Trade Representatives from the United States and Egypt discussed bilateral trade and investment issues under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
• Canada Port Strike: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship and Dock Foremen Local 514 began a strike on Nov. 4 against British Columbia Maritime Employers Association member companies.
• Food Security: USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report on Cuban food security and opportunities for U.S. agriculture exporters.

“Perhaps the most important thing to know about world hunger is that we know how to get progress going again. We can invest in farm productivity through better seeds, soil management, pest management, information, technology, water management and finance and then invest in the infrastructure to help get food to markets more quickly, less expensively and with less loss and waste. We can make sure more of the food that is produced is local, nutritious and climate resilient.”

———-Press statement of the World Food Prize Laureates

World Food Prize

THE NORMAN E. BORLAUG INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE

• The 2024 Borlaug Dialogue convened Oct. 29-31 in Iowa under the theme “Seeds of Opportunity: Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy.”
• The convention hosted many events focused on biotechnology, sustainability, regional challenges in agriculture, and agriculture diplomacy.

LAUREATE STATEMENT ON WORLD HUNGER

• In a press statement, 13 World Food Prize Laureates, including 2024 honoree Geoffrey Hawtin, noted that there has been little to no discussion of world hunger in U.S. elections.
• The laureate statement highlights the increasing number and percentage of people in the world facing chronic hunger, something the group said has negative consequences for peace.
• The statement offered four discussion points for the United States to alleviate these issues:
  • Strong support for the new Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.
  • Robust replenishment of the World Bank’s fund for low-income countries.
  • Global leadership in resolving post-COVID debt burdens of low-income countries in 2025.
  • U.S. voters considering how different candidates for office at all levels will affect families struggling with hunger in the U.S. and abroad.

Trade Promotion

NEW USDA FOOD FOR OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the Food for Opportunity (FFO) program, which is designed to expand opportunities for non-traditional U.S. commodities to qualify for various international food assistance programs.
• The Commodity Credit Corporation funds deployed by the USDA and U.S. Agency for International Development help finance the program with $50 million of its $1 billion investment.
• USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service “will solicit applications to run the pilot program, based on the input received from the Request for Information.”

USTR SECURES RENEWED MARKET ACCESS FOR U.S. APPLES IN INDONESIA

• Following USTR and USDA engagement, the government of Indonesia has agreed to restore an accelerated track for the U.S. to export apples to Indonesia.
• In 2023, the U.S. exported $925 million worth of apples globally.

WTO

UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTES TO STANDARDS AND TRADE DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (STDF)

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is contributing $180,000 to the Standards and Trade Development Facility, a joint effort of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Organization for Animal Health, the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization.
• The investment will help developing economies meet international food safety, animal, and plant health standards, and facilitate safe trade.
• This donation helps advance STDF work to improve access to global and regional markets for developing economies and least-developed countries.
• The FDA has contributed between $180,000 and $200,000 annually since 2014.
• Engaging with the STDF allows the FDA to learn the international implications of its policies, which the FDA is unable to determine through bilateral engagement alone.
• USDA also maintains an ongoing strategic partnership with the STDF.

US-Chile

FTA ENVIRONMENTAL ENGAGEMENT

• Assistant USTR for Environmental and Natural Resources Kelly Milton led USTR engagement in the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement Environmental Affairs Council in Santiago.
• This was the tenth meeting of the Environmental Affairs Council (EAC) established under the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement and the eighth meeting of the Joint Commission for Environmental Cooperation (JCEC).
• The EAC reviewed the progress of both countries in implementing the environmental chapter of the FTA.
• The parties also discussed actions taken, and ideas for future collaboration, to address other trade and environment issues of mutual interest, including climate change; ocean conservation; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; circular economy; and wildlife trafficking.
• The JCEC discussed future cooperation under the Eighth Work Program for Environmental Cooperation for 2025-28.
• Civil society and industry attended the meeting, reflecting both countries’ commitment to maintaining an open dialogue and participatory process.

US-Egypt

TRADE AND INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT (TIFA) MEETING

• Assistant United States Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East Bryant Trick and First Under Secretary and Head of the Foreign Commercial Service of Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade Yahya Elwathi Bellah Ahmed co-chaired the U.S. – Egypt TIFA council meeting.
• The United States and Egypt discussed bilateral trade and investment issues and sought ways to promote fair and reciprocal trade in agricultural and industrial goods, workers’ rights, and intellectual property protection.
• Regarding agriculture, the countries agreed to continue technical-level discussions on outstanding market access requests, emphasizing their commitments to transparency using comprehensive notifications and inquiry responses through bilateral channels and the World Trade Organization.
• The United States exported $810 million in agricultural and related products to Egypt in 2023, a 66% decrease from 2022.

Canadian Port Strike

STRIKE AGAINST BRITISH COLUMBIA MARITIME EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION (BCMEA) COMPANIES

• The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship and Dock Foremen Local 514 provided 72-hour notice of industry-wide strike action against member companies of the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, beginning Nov. 4.
• BCMEA says it submitted a “final offer” to the union on Wednesday after engaging in bargaining “for nearly two years to renew their collective agreement that expired in March 2023.”

Food Security

USDA REPORT ON CUBAN FOOD SECURITY

• USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released a report detailing the economic condition of Cuba following the COVID-19 pandemic, and its implications on U.S. agricultural exports.
• The study found that Cuba’s domestic production of many crops decreased over the past seven years due to factors such as hurricanes in 2020-21 and drought in 2023.
• Between 2016 and 2024, Cuba’s annual crop production fell.
  • Corn production declined from 404,000 metric tons to 250,000 metric tons.
  • Rice production declined from 335,000 metric tons to 140,000 metric tons.
  • Annual sugar exports plummeted from 1.1 million metric tons to 110,000 metric tons.
• USDA estimated nearly 12.8% of Cuba’s population in 2023 was food insecure, on average falling 225 calories per capita per day short, or 41,000 metric tons in grain equivalent.
• Cuba has depended on imports to fill the gap.
• Among countries with available trade data, the European Union, the United States, and Brazil were the top three suppliers of Cuba’s agricultural imports from 2017-22.