Posted January 13, 2014
The subject of the USDA catfish inspection program
resurfaced lasted week, as letters from opponents were sent to lawmakers,
according to an Agri-Pulse article available here.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) sent a letter, available here, to
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and ranking member
(R-MS), asking them to end the USDA catfish inspection program and calling the
program “duplicative.”
McCain wrote, “If we do not repeal the USDA Catfish
Inspection Program, hardworking farmers and ranchers across the United States
may find themselves reeling from the effect of a multibillion dollar trade
war.” He continued, “The need to repeal
the catfish program far outweighs whatever parochial reasons exist to prop-up a
small number of domestic catfish farmers.”
Other groups opposing the program also sent a letter,
available here,
to Senate and House Agriculture Committee leaders.
The USDA Catfish Inspection Program replaces the
existing program at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information on this program, recent
posts from this blog are available here
and here. American catfish farmers “say the new
inspection program would be more rigorous” and “is needed to make sure all
domestic and imported catfish is safe to eat.”
The move was also supported by Sen. Cochran, who argued for the
provision to be included in the 2008 farm bill.
Vietnam disagrees, saying the program is a trade
barrier. About 250 million pounds of
Vietnamese catfish, called pangasius, was exported to the U.S. in 2012, making
up over 60 percent of the American market.
House version of the farm bill includes a provision to
repeal the program (Section 11107 of H.R. 2642).
Please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s
website for more information on farm bills, international
trade, and aquaculture.
