Ag News, Tuesday July 28, 2015

More Than 200,000 Comments Delivered to EPA on RFS

On the final day of the comment period, advocates for the Renewable Fuel Standard delivered more than 200,000 comments to the EPA in favor of a strong final rule. Fuels America delivered the comments, but says they do not paint the full picture. “The Renewable Fuel Standard represents a promise to rural America—a promise that, when kept, helped rural economies across America make a strong comeback," said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union and one of the Fuels America members who dropped comments off at the EPA Monday morning.

Beef Producers Say TPP Must Deliver

Beef producers from several countries are calling for a high-quality market access deal on beef to be secured at the TPP ministerial meeting in Hawaii this week. The Five Nations Beef Alliance (FNBA) says it is vital that a comprehensive, trade liberalizing deal be finalized as negotiators and trade ministers from the 12 TPP countries will meet in Maui. The alliance says after five years of negotiations, the TPP must not be allowed to drift or lose momentum. The FNBA has consistently called for a non-discriminatory, plurilateral TPP deal that will liberalize the trade in beef products.

Dairy Groups Commend Senate Appeals for a Robust U.S.Dairy Outcome in TPP Talks

Dairy groups are commending senators for their work in increasing market access to US dairy in Canada and Japan. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) Monday thanked a bipartisan group of 22 senators for urging the Obama administration for the increase in market access as part of any final Pacific Rim trade agreement. In a letter led by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, the senators asked that the U.S. secure significant market access benefits across all dairy products, particularly into Japan and Canada, in ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Dairy is one of the last issues to be resolved in the TPP negotiations.

Source: NAFB News