U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced yesterday that Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse will lead a mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports to Russia December 3-7.  Representatives from the states of Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Kansas, as well as 23 American companies will participate.  Two-way agricultural trade between the United States and Russia was valued at approximately $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2012, with American farm exports accounting for 97 percent of that total.

Opportunities for U.S. exports should increase with Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization in August, USDA said, although industry representatives have noted that certain U.S. agricultural exporters will not receive the most favorable terms on tariff rate quotas until the United States and Russia have a binding WTO relationship.  Such a relationship is pending Senate approval of H.R. 6156 and proclamation by President Obama of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR).

On the same day that USDA announced the agricultural trade mission, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) wrote to the Under Secretary Scuse saying that as the United States moves closer to granting PNTR, it is important for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Foreign Agricultural Service to keep pressure on Russia to fully implement the WTO sanitary  and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement and remove all barriers to U.S. agricultural export products not supported by sound science.  He called on the administration to push the Russians to follow sound science on agricultural imports rather than “hide behind politically motivated protectionist measures.”

In addition, the National Chicken Council and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council in response to a request from Under Secretary Scuse sent a letter on Monday to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack outlining their views regarding the current trade situation with Russia.  One of the principal concerns cited in the letter regards the formation of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan and the possibility that current regulations governing exports to these markets will be revised in a way that could impair imports, the letter said.

NCC and USAPEEC pointed out in its letter that, although U.S. poultry exports to Russia have declined incrementally over the past several years, and Russia formally has reduced the amount of the U.S. poultry import quota, Russia still remains the second largest export market for U.S. poultry.  “It is anticipated that exports this year will exceed $250 million; and therefore, it is vital to our industry and its economic  recovery that we continue to have access to all of the Customs Union countries for our products,” the letter said.

The  letter summarized the most essential issues of concern, which include change of consignees, approval of additional export facilities; pre-notification, excessive product weight, egg product export certificates, hatching egg exports, moisture content, and possible increases in poultry import quota allocation. The letter, which provides detailed explanation of these seven issues, is available here.

“We urge you to address and resolve these issues as soon as possible, for the sake of the industry, its workers, and the U.S. economy,” the letter concluded.