U.S. Wheat Associates
THE WORLD'S MOST RELIABLE CHOICE.


Advocating for Open Markets

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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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Trade Policy Statements

USW Joins Call For Japan's Inclusion in TPP

published 03/27/2013

USW and a coalition of agricultural organizations wrote to President Obama supporting Japan joining TPP as quickly as possible. ...



Trade Policy Priorities for 2013

published 03/07/2013

The following are the wheat industry's trade policy priorities for 2013. ...



Trade Policy Priorities for 2012

published 07/20/2012

The following are the wheat industry's trade policy priorities for 2012. ...



Trade Policy Archive
Biotechnology
Promoting U.S. Wheat Exports

ISAAA Report on Biotech/GM Crops

"For the first time since the introduction of biotech/GM crops almost two decades ago, developing countries have grown more hectares of biotech crops than industrialized countries, contributing to food security and further alleviating poverty in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions."

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Policy Priorities

2013 Trade Policy Priorities

U.S. wheat producers and their customers face a number of trade policy challenges. Trade barriers harm not just U.S. farmers but also their customers by impeding their product choices or raising the price of products they want.

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