Category: Uncategorised

Agricultural trade groups, including the American Cotton Shippers Association, have urged President Biden and President-elect Trump to address labor disputes at East and Gulf Coast ports. In letters sent yesterday, the group highlighted the urgency of a new agreement between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance before the contract expires on January 15, 2025. The groups warned that prolonged shutdowns could disrupt $1.4 billion in weekly agricultural trade, with 40% of U.S. agricultural exports dependent on these ports, and harm U.S. competitiveness.

Letter to President Biden here.

Letter to President-elect Trump here.

On October 28, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a briefing on the coordinated inter-agency response to the agricultural impact of Hurricane Helene. See below for takeaways, discussion points, and other details.

More here.

Today, a letter was sent to President Biden, signed by the American Cotton Shippers Association and more than 270 other local, state, and federal trade associations. The letter urged President Biden and his administration to use all of its authorities to end the port strike, get the ports open, and get the parties back to the negotiating table.

Letter here.

The American Cotton Shippers Association and almost 200 other organizations sent a letter to President Biden today, urging the Administration to “urgently pursue all avenues to mitigate the supply chain challenges facing U.S. agriculture.” With a significant portion of the U.S. cotton crop being exported out of the East Coast and Gulf Coast, a port strike would be detrimental to our ability to get U.S. cotton to our international customers.

Letter here.

Today, the American Cotton Shippers and 55 other agricultural stakeholders sent a letter to the Biden administration asking them to “act before a lockout or strike occurs to prevent damage to U.S. agriculture and the economy.”

Letter here.

On December 7, 2022, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) held an Agricultural Advisory Committee (“AAC”) meeting to discuss topics related to the agricultural economy and recent developments in the agricultural derivatives markets. ACSA President/CEO Buddy Allen and Chairman Tommy Hayden of Louis Dreyfus Company both serve on the committee.

Summary here.

On September 14th, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing titled, “The Future of U.S.-Taiwan Trade.” There were four witnesses, including Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening.

Summary here.

ACSA would like to thank Betsy Olim, host of Export Stories Podcast, for dedicating an episode on cotton. The episode focuses on current challenges faced by the cotton industry and ACSA’s advocacy efforts to increase efficiency and security for our supply chain. 

Podcast here.

On August 3rd, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) along with Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022 to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission new tools and authorities to regulate digital commodities. 

Summary here.

On June 20th, the House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing entitled “A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Stakeholder Perspectives on Title XI Crop Insurance.” 

Summary here.