The U.S. Wheat Store is Always Open
U.S. wheat farmers produce a plentiful wheat crop each year allowing the United States to be the largest single exporter of wheat in the world. People around the world rely on the United States and a handful of other countries to supply the basic ingredient for their traditional wheat-based foods.
While world wheat trade is largely a commercial market, buyers expect wheat to be available when needed. The U.S. wheat industry recognizes that this social contract exists and has invested much to earn the reputation as the world’s most reliable choice. Click here to read more. |
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is dedicated to creating a level trade playing field that allows U.S. wheat producers to participate in export markets worldwide. We offer analyses, perspectives, and recommendations on trade policy issues that potentially affect export market access and have the potential to impede sales. Although most USW activities are conducted overseas, market development programs begin in the United States, where government policy can affect the sales of millions of tons of wheat each year. USW supports wheat trade policies that provide for open and fair competition. USW regularly submits comments to the U.S. government on policies impacting wheat exports.
Free Trade Agreements, WTO and Beyond
 USW supports free trade through multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade agreements. USW believes that a comprehensive and ambitious WTO agreement is the best opportunity to achieve new global sales of U.S.-origin wheat. At the same time, we continue to support an aggressive bilateral and multilateral trade agenda based on the success of previous agreements for U.S. wheat exports such as NAFTA and CAFTA/DR. We support the immediate ratification of pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
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Competitiveness
USW is involved in providing input on and conducting analyses of various government policies that can impact U.S. wheat exports including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues, export credits, monopoly powers of export state trading enterprises such as the Canadian Wheat Board, and sanctioned country sales, among others.
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Food Aid - Wheat is for Life
 USW works with the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), USDA, and many other non-governmental organizations on issues impacting the use of wheat in food aid programs.
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Biotechnology
USW supports the eventual commercialization of biotech wheat and while this goal is at least a decade away for the United States, USW continues to work in concert with industry partners to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the concerns of our loyal overseas customers.
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Sanctioned Countries
 USW supports full normalization of trade relations with Cuba and actively meets and works with the buying agency in Cuba, Alimport, to help them procure wheat from the United States. USW has submitted testimony authored numerous white papers and position pieces promoting the normalization of trade with Cuba, and works cooperatively with the National Association of Wheat Growers on Cuban trade issues. USW supports removal of the travel ban, so that all U.S. citizens and Cuban nationals can travel freely between our respective countries, easing of financial regualtions to allow for direct banking and standard payment terms for buying U.S. agricultural commodities.
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Biotechnology
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ISAAA Report on Biotech/GM Crops Shows 94-Fold Increase in Planted Area Since 1996
From Agri-Pulse: The ISAAA report, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2011, says a record 16.7 million farmers in 29 countries are growing biotech crops on 395 million acres. According to the report, “such adoption represents a 94-fold increase in hectares planted since 1996, making biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in recent history.” According to Dr. Cathleen Enright, Executive Vice President, Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), “In the United States more than 170 million acres of biotech crops were planted in 2011, and the United States remains the top country in terms of biotech acreage."
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Trade Agreements
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Wheat Farmers Gratified to See Congressional Approval of FTAs
Statement from Wayne Hurst, National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) president, and Randy Suess, U.S. Wheat Associates chairman, following Congressional passage of free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea:
“We were extremely pleased to see Congress pass on Wednesday the long-pending free trade agreements our country has negotiated with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. We have waited for the day these agreements would be taken up for many years now. We strongly urge the President to sign these agreements quickly.”
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