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Trade agency reorganization bad shuffle for ag?

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson noted concerns USTR “could get lost in the shuffle” under the plan. We have an RFD Radio interview with Nelson.
Martin Ross 
Published: Jan 20, 2012
A White House proposal to merge federal trade agencies raises concerns about the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) continued international clout, its role in ag trade issues, and the administration’s overall trade commitment.

President Obama has asked Congress to grant him “fast-track” authority to consolidate USTR and the trade functions of the Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp., the Trade and Development Agency, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The American Soybean Association maintains USTR should remain an independent agency within the Executive Office of the President, “focusing on trade negotiations, trade agreements, and trade enforcement.” Arguing “enactment of trade agreements has been a hard slog with the president,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) fears the plan would bump trade down Obama’s priority list.

Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson noted concerns USTR “could get lost in the shuffle” under the plan. Washington trade consultant Kyd Brenner told FarmWeek “the devil’s in the details,” he warned moving USTR into Commerce or another department (as some speculate) poses some “unintended consequences.”

“USTR is a direct arm of the White House,” he said. “That gives the U.S. trade representative stature with trade ministers in other countries. They understand they’re dealing with someone who works directly for the president.

“If USTR were subsumed into a Cabinet department, the trade representative and his staff could be viewed as having a little less plug-in with the senior level of policymaking.”

USTR plays “the coordinating role” in trade policy between agencies, Brenner noted. He questioned how effectively a USTR tied to a single department could continue to play such an impartial role.

Because of its independence and size, USTR is “very nimble,” able to respond quickly to trade issues, Brenner said. Making it “a sub-unit of a much larger bureaucracy” could impact its response capabilities, he said.

Further, the White House plan raises questions about the future of USTR’s “ag ambassador” -- a unique post with no equivalent in other trade-impacted sector. While Brenner does not anticipate a rejiggered USTR devoting “any less effort” to ag export issues, he stressed Commerce and other departments “don’t have an agricultural focus.”


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