Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/13901
FROM THE ASGA by Luther Markwart | EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Litigation Nation On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the Roundup Ready alfalfa case. As you will recall, the beet sugar industry filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court to present our industry’s views on key legal issues in the case. On June 21, the Court, in it’s first deci- sion involving biotech crops, overturned (by a vote of 7–1) a lower court’s order that has prohibited farmers from planting biotech alfalfa. Retiring Justice Stevens was the only dissenting vote. This ruling could allow the USDA to permit interim planting of the crop while it completes an environmental study. The beet sugar industry is pleased with this significant ruling and how it might impact the biotech sugarbeet process as we prepare for the next phase of court proceedings. The alfalfa ruling focuses on and clari- fies the process of biotech approvals. Importantly, the Supreme Court’s ruling on biotech alfalfa does not presume that an injunction on planting biotech crops would be automatically issued if a biotech approval is challenged. In the Roundup Ready sugarbeet litigation, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has asked both the plaintiffs and the defendant/ defendant interveners to submit briefs to the Court on our respective views as to the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the sugarbeet case now pending before the Court. Plaintiffs’ briefs were filed on July 6, and the defendants’ briefs were filed on July 14. Given the additional time required for the filing and consideration of the briefs, the Court rescheduled the July 9 court remedy hearing to August 13. Sugar Market On July 6, the USDA announced an increase in raw sugar imports of 300,000 short tons of raw sugar for the current fiscal year. The U.S. Trade Representative has allocated the imports to 25 countries that have the ability to ship sugar to the U.S. before September 30, which is the last day of the 2010 fiscal year. This is both a timely and reasonable amount of imports for this period in order to keep the market in balance when domestic inventories are at their lowest. This announcement comes on top of an April 27 announcement of additional 6 Sugar Producer AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 imports of 200,000 tons of raw sugar. These two announcements come at times when there is much greater certainty about both the supply and demand in the marketplace. The uncertainty of what Mexico will ship to the U.S. is one of the main factors that require the USDA to make adjust- ments to imports later in the fiscal year. The USDA is managing the sugar policy as prescribed by the 2008 Farm Bill in a proper, thoughtful and timely manner. Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) The original free trade agreement between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singa- pore was signed in 2005. Negotiations to include the U.S., Australia, Peru and Vietnam began in March 2010. Negotiations have continued in San Francisco June 14–18, and will continue in October 4–8 in Brunei. We are watching these negotiations carefully and objecting to opening any of the existing free trade agreements to expand access to the U.S. sugar market. This would be most problematic for our industry if the U.S.–Australia FTA was re- opened for greater market access for sugar. The U. S. wants to continue to expand its economic presence in Southeast Asia. You will be hearing more about these negotia- tions in the future. 2010 ASGA Cleavinger Intern Many thanks to Ashlyn Gurley, a senior from the University of Michigan, for all of her great work this summer. Ashlyn con- ducted a great deal of important research for our industry that will be very useful as we prepare for the next farm bill. As always, it was a great opportunity for her to work closely with our staff and learn the many aspects of association work in Wash- ington, D.C. We also thank Bayer Crop Science for helping to fund this important program that helps our growers. n