Impacts of Government Shutdown on Meat Exports and USMEF
Published: Oct 01, 2013
The ongoing Congressional debate over the federal budget has resulted in a partial government shutdown effective today, forcing some 800,000 federal workers off the job, including many staff members at USDA and USTR.
FSIS has posted guidance on its procedures for maintaining most field operations. Field inspection of meat, poultry and egg products will continue to be performed to ensure the safety of human life for the duration of a government shutdown. That includes inspection before and after slaughter of those birds and animals intended for use as food for humans and supervising the further processing of meat and poultry products; ensuring that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe and preventing the movement or sale in commerce of any meat or poultry products which are adulterated; and applying foreign governments' inspection requirements and procedures to verify that products exported from the United States are safe. USMEF’s understanding is that FSIS will continue to issue export certificates.
Due to the lapse in appropriations for FAS as of today (Oct. 1, 2013), FAS has initiated the process of an orderly shutdown of nonessential operations. USDA’s plans for the lapse in appropriations may be viewed at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans.
For USMEF and other recipients of USDA market development program funding (USDA Market Access Program [MAP], Foreign Market Development [FMD] program and others), legislative authority for those programs lapsed with the expiration of the farm bill (Sept. 30). No FY 2014 funding can be made available until these authorities are reauthorized or extended. The impact of the failure of Congress to find a way to continue these authorities will be felt most immediately at USMEF on programs that are funded by the FMD program, which operates on the government’s October-to-September fiscal year (FY 2013). The MAP year does not begin until Jan. 1, so there is still time for Congress to act before funding under that program expires.
The farm bill funds many important functions beyond MAP and FMD that are also critical to agricultural trade, including our government’s ability to actively engage with trading partners – especially when the administration has launched major trade negotiations with Japan (TPP) and the EU (TTIP).
For our part, USMEF remains committed to maintaining operations at our network of international offices that support U.S. red meat exports, and we are reviewing all options to do that. We will continue to explore new ways to stretch available funds by keeping our operations lean and efficient.
USMEF members are encouraged to share with their elected representatives their views on the importance of resolving the impasse on the FY 2014 budget and approving a new five-year farm bill that maintains full funding for the MAP and FMD programs that support red meat exports.
FSIS has posted guidance on its procedures for maintaining most field operations. Field inspection of meat, poultry and egg products will continue to be performed to ensure the safety of human life for the duration of a government shutdown. That includes inspection before and after slaughter of those birds and animals intended for use as food for humans and supervising the further processing of meat and poultry products; ensuring that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe and preventing the movement or sale in commerce of any meat or poultry products which are adulterated; and applying foreign governments' inspection requirements and procedures to verify that products exported from the United States are safe. USMEF’s understanding is that FSIS will continue to issue export certificates.
Due to the lapse in appropriations for FAS as of today (Oct. 1, 2013), FAS has initiated the process of an orderly shutdown of nonessential operations. USDA’s plans for the lapse in appropriations may be viewed at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingency-plans.
For USMEF and other recipients of USDA market development program funding (USDA Market Access Program [MAP], Foreign Market Development [FMD] program and others), legislative authority for those programs lapsed with the expiration of the farm bill (Sept. 30). No FY 2014 funding can be made available until these authorities are reauthorized or extended. The impact of the failure of Congress to find a way to continue these authorities will be felt most immediately at USMEF on programs that are funded by the FMD program, which operates on the government’s October-to-September fiscal year (FY 2013). The MAP year does not begin until Jan. 1, so there is still time for Congress to act before funding under that program expires.
The farm bill funds many important functions beyond MAP and FMD that are also critical to agricultural trade, including our government’s ability to actively engage with trading partners – especially when the administration has launched major trade negotiations with Japan (TPP) and the EU (TTIP).
For our part, USMEF remains committed to maintaining operations at our network of international offices that support U.S. red meat exports, and we are reviewing all options to do that. We will continue to explore new ways to stretch available funds by keeping our operations lean and efficient.
USMEF members are encouraged to share with their elected representatives their views on the importance of resolving the impasse on the FY 2014 budget and approving a new five-year farm bill that maintains full funding for the MAP and FMD programs that support red meat exports.