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U.S. Senators Katie Britt, R-Ala.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Tina Smith, D-Minn.; and Chris Coons, D-Del.; along with Representatives Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., introduced the Safe American Food Exports Act.
“Animal disease outbreaks pose a significant threat to not just American food security, but the livelihoods of our hardworking farmers and producers. This legislation would help secure global trade exports in the event of such an outbreak,” said Senator Britt. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in this effort to support American agricultural producers and ensure sustainable markets.”
The Members’ legislation would codify USDA’s role in negotiating regionalization agreements that allow livestock, poultry and other animal products from unaffected areas of the country to continue to be safely exported in the event of an animal disease outbreak.
According to USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture data, over $9 billion in agricultural products are sold annually in the state of Alabama. Additionally, the market value of livestock, poultry and other animal products totals nearly $7.3 billion. Alabama continues to be a national leader in poultry and egg production.
“Iowa farmers are the backbone of our economy and the breadbasket of our country and the world. However, an animal disease outbreak can be devastating for our producers, majorly disrupt trade with foreign countries, and close important export markets that our farmers depend on,” said Representative Feenstra. “Understanding the dire financial and animal health consequences of a disease outbreak, I introduced the Safe American Food Exports Act so that we can negotiate comprehensive agreements with our trading partners and ensure that a disease outbreak in one part of the country does not impact Iowa’s ability to produce and export our agricultural goods. By working proactively on regionalization agreements and prioritizing farm biosecurity, we can safely ship our agricultural commodities around the globe, prevent massive trade disruptions, and mitigate the negative impacts of animal disease on our farmers, producers, and rural communities.”
Although USDA already works with the United States Trade Representative to develop these agreements, this legislation explicitly expresses congressional support for establishing regionalization agreements and promoting robust agricultural trade policies before any animal disease impacts our nation.
“Mississippi’s poultry exporters and producers have suffered during the bird flu. Animal diseases often cause trade disruptions, and the government should help protect American agriculture exports in these situations,” said Senator Wicker. “The Safe American Food Exports Act would help do that. The bill would give the USDA authority to negotiate regionalization agreements to ensure America’s agricultural producers are not shut off from the global market.”
This bill also establishes a notification system within the Import and Export Library to prevent our producers from being impacted by changes in trade status of agricultural commodities and alert the proper agencies, organizations, and State Departments of Agriculture that there have been changes in import or export status.
“Outbreaks of animal disease, even when limited to a specific region, can upend access to global markets for producers across the country,” said Representative Panetta. “That’s why I’m proud to help lead this bipartisan, bicameral effort that would codify USDA’s role in proactively negotiating regionalization agreements. By reducing unnecessary trade disruptions, we can ensure that disease-free producers remain competitive abroad, meet global food demands, and uphold the high food safety standards that American consumers expect.”
The full text of the bill can be found here.
