USDA accepts 2 trade help petitions for review

USDA accepts 2 trade help petitions for review    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service has accepted a petition filed by the A. Sam Farm in Dunkirk, N.Y., for trade adjustment assistance.
   The petitioner represents a group of cabbage producers in New York. The USDA will determine within the next 40 days whether or not imports of cabbages contributed significantly to a decline in domestic producer prices of more than 20 percent during the marketing year period January-December 2003.
   The agency also agreed to accept a petition from the Potato Growers of Idaho in Blackfoot, Idaho, for trade adjustment assistance. The petitioner has also asked for a public hearing to review the merits of petition, which will be held at the USDA headquarters in Washington on March 2.
   The Potato Growers of Idaho maintains that during September 2003 to July 2004 increasing imports of french fries contributed significantly to a decline in domestic fresh potato producer prices by more than 20 percent. To support to the petition, the group submitted price data from the Idaho Agricultural Statistics Office.
   The USDA has the next 40 days to review both petitions. If the agency determines that trade adjustment assistance is warranted, the petitioners will be eligible to apply to the Farm Service Agency for technical support at no cost and adjustment assistance payments.