U.S. soybean shippers set trade agenda for 2005

U.S. soybean shippers set trade agenda for 2005    The American Soybean Association voted last week at a gathering of producers in Austin, Texas, to set trade promotion priorities for 2005.
   The association supports the ratification of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement. “This agreement benefits U.S. soybean producers eliminating tariffs on all soybean products, and by providing meaningful access to Central American markets for U.S. pork and poultry products,” the association said in a statement Monday.
   The soybean shippers will oppose any product exclusions from free trade agreements on the basis that they serve as negative precedents for countries seeking to exclude soy or livestock products.
   The association also said it opposes a tax or tariff on feeder pigs coming from Canada because it believes “this policy causes an increase in production costs for the domestic pork producer and is detrimental to the consumption of soy meal in the United States.”
   The association wants the U.S. Commerce Department to reconsider the imposed import tariffs on feeder pigs from Canada.
   The association supports voluntary country of origin labeling, strict measures to prevent the spread of avian flu to the global poultry population, and cash grant humanitarian assistance to other countries.
   The soybean shippers want Congress and Bush administration to work to ensure that the European Union food traceability law, U.S. seed companies and shipper’s contracts not transfer financial liability onto U.S. producers as a result of grain shipments containing unapproved biotech-enhanced traits.