Senate Action Needed on Key Ag Trade Nominees

With important trade negotiations on the horizon, USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom says there is an urgent need for the U.S. Senate to confirm two key nominees: Douglas McKalip to serve as chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Alexis Taylor as USDA under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.

These nominations advanced from the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, respectively, in September.

Halstrom notes that the first negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is rapidly approaching – talks are set for Dec. 10-15 in Brisbane, Australia. He says the IPEF could be an important vehicle for lowering trade barriers for U.S. red meat exports, especially in emerging markets such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations. USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law. USMEF is an equal opportunity employer and provider.