Category: Uncategorised

U.S. farm organizations, including the American Cotton Shippers Association, signed onto a letter to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), calling for the quick Senate approval of Luke Lindberg’s nomination as the next USDA undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.

Letter here.

Last night, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) approved the master contract.

According to an ILA release, nearly 99% voted in favor of the new contract.

The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) approved the contract in late January. Release here.

The release noted that the parties will sign the new agreement on March 11, 2025.

Articles of Interest

• Dockworkers Approve Labor Deal, Wall Street Journal (2/25)
• Dockworkers Vote to Accept New Labor Contract, NY Times (2/25)
• ILA members overwhelmingly approve new contract covering East, Gulf coast ports, FreightWaves (2/25)
• US East and Gulf Coast dockworkers ratify new six-year contract, Reuters (2/25)
• U.S. dockworkers approve a 6-year contract that will avoid a strike that could have crippled the economy, Fortune (2/26)

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.