Washington DC  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today asked Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman why American producers cannot get contracts in Iraq from the group tasked with oversight of trade with the rebuilding nation.

 

The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has granted nonparticipating nations access to Iraq’s 1 million ton per year rice market, which right now is being administered by the World Food Programme.

 

“The CPA’s current policy allows major rice exporters, such as Vietnam, to bid on World Food Programme-administered tenders, creating a situation where the market is quite likely to remain in the hands of competitors who are not Coalition partners,” Emerson stated during the hearing.  “I strongly believe the CPA should remain consistent and restrict contracts to countries that have sacrificed in the effort to free Iraq.”

 

Emerson is a member of the Agriculture Subcommittee on the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, and she represents the northernmost rice-producing congressional district in the nation.

 

“Under this arrangement, U.S. rice producers and millers are shut out of the process,” Emerson said.  “U.S. rice has lost its three major overseas markets in Cuba, Iran, and Iraq – so clearly the system of advocacy at the USDA is not working properly.”

 

The Foreign Agricultural Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the duty of representing U.S. agricultural products abroad.

 

Emerson also asked Veneman what steps USDA will take to protect American producers from new European Union rules designed to prevent American biotechnology from reaching European markets.

 

“Biotechnology is not harmful; it is the single greatest advance in agricultural history since the invention of the tractor.  European governments are legislating fear of American agricultural products, and we should be far more aggressive in international trade on behalf of our producers back home,” she said.

 

Rural affairs are a major issue for Emerson’s Southern Missouri District, and she asked Veneman to explain the reason for a shift from grants to loans in the USDA Rural Development program.

 

“I’m very concerned that fewer communities will be eligible for grants from the Rural Development program.  We need more opportunities for rural America, not fewer.  Provide leverage for disadvantaged rural communities to achieve funding for water and waste disposal projects.  If funding for Rural Development is going to be cut, I expect there to be a darn good reason,” Emerson said.