USMEF Leaders Update Press on Global Meat Trade Challenges
USMEF Leaders Update Press on Global Meat Trade Challenges
USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng was joined by three international directors Thursday for a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region, Chad Russell, USMEF regional director for Mexico and the Dominican Republic and John Brook, USMEF regional director for Europe, Russia and the Middle East each provided a perspective on trade issues affecting their respective regions, while Seng offered comments on U.S. trade policy and the global economic climate.
About 25 members of the agricultural, business and international media attended the session in person or via conference call.
USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng briefs reporters on global trade issues along with John Brook (far left), Chad Russell (second from right) and Joel Haggard (far right)
Seng opened the news conference by noting the difficult economic environment U.S. pork and beef exports face in many areas of the world, but said the industry showed resilience and innovation by maintaining solid performance levels in the first quarter of the year. He also expressed optimism about the Obama Administration’s approach and philosophy on trade, and the prospects for improved relations with key U.S. trading partners.
“We feel it’s very important to establish good relations with our trading partners and to base those relationships on mutual trust and respect,” he said. “This is especially true when times are tough across the world.”
Questions from media in attendance spanned a wide range of topics, including the new agreement on beef exports to the European Union, the current suspensions of pork exports by China and Russia, the pending free trade agreement with South Korea, the economic disruption in Mexico caused by A-H1N1 Influenza and industry efforts to gain broader access for U.S. beef in Japan.
Earlier Thursday morning, the international directors covered similar topics in breakout sessions for USMEF members attending the USMEF board of directors meeting. The afternoon agenda included meetings of the Exporter Committee, the Feedgrain and Oilseed Caucus, the Beef and Allied Industries Committee and the Pork and Allied Industries Committee. These sessions were followed by meetings of the Resolutions Committee and the USMEF Executive Committee.
The USMEF board of directors meeting will conclude Friday morning with a general session highlighted by an address from Ambassador Ron Kirk, U.S. trade representative. For updates, please visit www.usmef.org.
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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 and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.