US Dry Bean Council Expresses Strong Support for recent Trade Actions
August 29, 2018For Immediate Release
Portland, OR
The US Dry Bean Council (USDBC) welcomes the news that the U.S, and Mexico have reached an agreement in principal on NAFTA 2.0. Mexico is the top single nation export market for U.S. dry beans and a critical partner in trade. Deon Maasjo of Kelley Bean Company in Oakes, North Dakota and President of USDBC emphasized, “NAFTA is critical to our competitiveness in the Mexican market and to the overall health of the U.S. dry bean economy, we are very pleased with this progress and look forward to a full NAFTA agreement, including Canada, in the near future.”
USDBC is also pleased with support from USDA and the Administration to mitigate the impact of trade retaliation from several key end use markets. In particular, the U.S. dry bean industry has suffered losses in the wake of 25% tariffs on exports to the European Union. Recent news that dry beans will be eligible for domestic food assistance purchases as well as new trade promotion support has been well received by the industry. Rebecca Bratter, Executive Director of USDBC noted that “while we hope to see a resumption of traditional trade flows, as well as an end to tariffs from the EU, we are grateful for additional support from USDA to help our industry through this particularly challenging time.”
“We understand the need to discipline the unfair trade practices of our partners, to put the U.S. on a level playing field, but as a specialty crop, we are particularly sensitive to recent actions that have caused our industry losses,” noted Clint Stoutenburg, Vice President of USDBC and a bean grower from Sandusky, Michigan. The USDBC welcomes these recent trade actions and looks forward to continuing to work with USDA through our public/private partnership with the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to ensure continued global competitiveness for U.S. dry bean exports.
For more information please contact the US Dry Bean Council at:
The U.S. Dry Beans Council (USDBC) was formed over forty years ago to represent farmers, dealers and corporate members who grow, handle, export and process dry beans grown in the United States. The purpose and mission of the USDBC is to provide a unified voice for the dry bean industry, and to promote the healthy attributes of our food to increase the consumption of beans grown in the United States. The USDBC strives to be successful in representing the diverse interests of the U.S. dry bean producers, handlers and processors, affecting the U.S. industry’s ability to compete both domestically and globally.