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United States

“Cooling Off Period” Gives Time For Lasting Solution

“The United States is the world leader in the export of red meats,” said U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Phil Seng. “We hope that the action taken by President Bush today will give both sides in this dispute another chance to find common ground and keep the ports open permanently.”

President Bush said he would seek a court order to suspend a lockout that has shut down West Coast ports and cost the country billions of dollars. The injunction would suspend for 80 days the lockout at 29 ports, now in its 10th day. If the ports are ordered reopened and the dispute is not settled after 60 days, the act requires a secret ballot vote by the workers on the employers' final offer. If the offer is rejected, the lockout could resume.  

"The President’s action is a vital step,” Seng said. “We expect both sides to put forth their best efforts to find a permanent and equitable solution. The U.S. must incorporate technology to compete in the world market. On the other hand, dock workers deserve fair treatment.”

Bush decided to invoke the 1947 Taft-Hartley labor act for the first time since 1978 after he received the report of a fact-finding panel that he established a day earlier. The report, released by the White House, said the atmosphere for negotiations was poisoned and the port workers and their employers were unlikely to resolve their dispute.

Dominican Republic

U.S. Beef And Pork Exports To
Dominican Republic Up In 2002

The United States exported 944 metric tons (mt) of beef and beef variety meats to the Dominican Republic in the first seven months of 2002, 56 percent higher than the same period in 2001. Trade contacts in the Dominican Republic tell USMEF Caribbean Manager Elizabeth Wunderlich that Dominican import permits for beef have recently been easier to obtain, but the Caribbean nation’s procedures for getting import licenses for pork remain as tortuous as ever. Nevertheless, U.S. pork imports to the Dominican Republic (including variety meats) were up 38 percent over January-July, 2001 and totaled 1,557 mt.

Middle-class Dominicans now buy almost all their meat at supermarkets, and the French supermarket giant, Carrefour, is setting up shop in the Dominican Republic. Wunderlich reports a domestic retailer is now offering four grades of U.S. beef (no-roll, choice, high choice and prime). 

The Dominican Republic is the third largest general export market for U.S. products in the Western Hemisphere according to U.S. government statistics. The country has a population of eight million people and one million Dominicans live in the United States, which enhances the Dominican preference for American products. The economy grew at a rate of 7 percent or higher from 1995–2000, thanks to money from Dominican expatriates in American, industry in free trade zones, and tourism. Growth fell to 2.7 percent in 2001 but rebounded to 6 percent in the first half of 2002, despite a downturn in the tourism sector.

Click for USMEF Annual Board of Directors Meeting Information and Registration Form; November 6-8, 2002 - Long Beach, California