Stallman, continued
rather than science.
Although the U.S. and the EU both follow the safety
guidelines set out by the World Trade Organization, the
EU tacks on a “precautionary principle,” which allows
it to add non-scientific guidelines to risk management.
Match this with its snail’s pace for approving biotech
products, and it is not surprising that we’ve seen a
significant drop in corn and soybean exports. For U.S.
food products that do make it over to the EU, the use
of geographic indications can put some at an unfair
disadvantage, limiting their marketability.
Standing Firm in Negotiations
No trade agreement can be fully successful without
the support of agriculture. In September, AFBF’s Trade
Advisory Committee met with EU officials in Brussels,
where we urged them to remove unnecessary trade
barriers once and for all and to move forward with the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. A free
trade agreement between the U.S. and the EU can bring
a serious boost to U.S. agriculture, but only if politics are
set aside.
AFBF also met with several ambassadors and the
WTO director-general in Geneva where we affirmed
U.S. support for completing the Trade Facilitation
Agreement, an accord that would eliminate many
antiquated customs procedures that serve no useful
purpose. The agreement is currently on hold thanks to
India — which originally signed on with all other WTO
countries back in December but is now delaying the
ratification. U.S. agriculture is ready for ambitious trade
negotiations. Hanging onto failed ideas that place certain
agricultural sectors at a disadvantage or create special
exemptions for developing countries is no way to move
forward in today’s marketplace.
Waiting for trade negotiations to conclude can feel
a bit like watching paint dry, but persistence pays off.
A recent agreement between the U.S. and Brazil has
resolved Brazil’s complaint to the WTO and ended years
of uncertainty for America’s cotton growers. Thanks to
the support of the U.S. government, the current structure
of commodity programs remains intact. We must
continue to hang tough in trade negotiations to keep the
marketplace open to the American farmer.
10 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
Register Now for AFBF
Annual Convention in
Sunny California!
Online registration
is open for the
American Farm Bureau
Federation’s 96th Annual
Convention and IDEAg
Trade Show, Jan. 10-14,
2015, in San Diego.
Speakers at this year’s
event include U.S. Navy SEALs Commander Rorke
Denver and comedian and former Tonight Show host
Jay Leno. The full member registration fee is $100 and
includes the IDEAg Trade Show and Young Farmer &
Rancher competitive events (Saturday, Jan. 10 through
Monday, Jan. 12), general sessions, workshops and the
AFB Foundation for Agriculture Silent Auction. For full
details, see www.annualconvention.fb.org.
WEST VIRGINIA
ROYALTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION
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