April 2002 Page 9

     The U.S. government is vigorously
protesting the embargo on poultry imports
imposed by the Russian Federation. Secretaryof Agriculture Ann M. Veneman and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert B. Zoellick said in a statement that the Russian embargo was unjustified. “U.S. poultry and poultry product exports meet the highest safety standards in the world,” Veneman and Zoellick said. “We have been cooperating fully and promptly with Russian authorities in meeting information requests. We know of no reason whatsoever that would justify a ban on our products.” Veneman and Zoellick also said in their joint statement, “Our trading relations with Russia are important to the United States. An unjustified ban on 20 percent of our overall exports to Russia would be extremely damaging. We will work closely with Russian officials for continuance of trade based on fair and scientifically based standards.”
     The Russian Agriculture Ministry
stopped issuing import licenses for U.S. poultry in early March and said it could introduce a full ban on imports as of March 10. Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev called the license suspension a “warning” to the United States and complained about the use of antibiotics and other substances in American poultry production.
     Imports make up about 60 percent of the
Russian poultry market, with the bulk of that
coming from the United States. American
companies sent over 1 million metric tons of

chicken to Russia last year, worth pproximately $630 million. Russian poultry producers have called for protection from imports, and the Agriculture Ministry signaled in January that it would seek high tariffs, a tariffrate quota, and renegotiation of the sanitary agreement reached with the United States in 1996.
     Russian media also speculated that the
embargo was an attempt to influence President Bush’s decision on protectionist measures for the U.S. steel industry. Prohibitive U.S. tariffs on imported steel could cost Russia $1.5 billion over two years, Russian media said.
      Nine U.S. government officials, eight Russian Ministry of Agriculture officials, and one Russian poultry industry representative met March 11 to begin discussions about three areas at issue. Leading the U.S. delegation was U.S. Ambassador Vershbow while
      Deputy Agriculture Minister Dankvert was the chief delegate for the Russian group. The three major issues are USDA certification; positive test results for Salmonella; and concerns about temp-eratures, antimicrobials, antibiotics and other feed additives. After the morning meeting, the afternoon meeting broke into subgroups to more pecifically address the three areas of issues.
      Deputy Minister Dankvert said the purpose of the meeting was to renegotiate the 1996 U.S./Russian Veterinary agreement. Ambassador Vershbow countered that the purpose of the meeting is to find a way to resolve

the trade ban as soon as possible.
     Jim Sumner characterized the meeting as “not going well with little good news.” He indicated that the Russian Ministry of Agriculture stated it has a zero tolerance Salmonella requirement for poultry. Russia provided a listing of ten loads of U.S. poultry products that tested positive for Salmonella.
Companies that had product with positive tests have been asked to send their Russian requirements testing data to Jim Sumner in Moscow and Geoffrey Wiggin, U.S. Agri-cultural counselor in Moscow. The U.S. poultry industry, however, is confident that this is a trade issue and not a food safety issue. Some government officials suspect that the ban could be partly in retaliation for recent steel tariffs leveled by the United States, he said.
     Russia has imported a large portion of the nation’s dark meat poultry, specifically leg quarters that make up about one-half of a chicken. Losing that market, according to Marshall Country poultry farmer Dan Smalley, could result in a ripple effect, cutting the production and profits of growers and forcing them to cut jobs
      At the time of this writing, Johnny Adams executive director for the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association, is in Washington, D.C. meeting with government officials in hopes to resolve this matter quickly to protect American farmers and the Alabama poultry industry. Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions have written letters to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick urging him to take all measures to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Also, Reps. Bob Riley and Robert Aderholt have contacted the president’s office to offer their services to help resolve this crisis.