Senate Passes FY 2010 Ag, FDA Appropriations Bill (Poultry from China, Imported Seafood, Personal Care Products, Etc.)

(Although both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of H.R. 2997, it is not in effect. Generally, in order for a bill to be implemented, identical versions of that bill must be passed by both the House and Senate and then the bill must be approved (enacted) by the President. H.R. 2997 is now the subject of a House-Senate conference to resolve differences between the two versions.)

Highlights of Trade-Related Aspects of H.R. 2997

The following are highlights of the trade-related aspects of the Senate-passed H.R. 2997:

Strict requirements for poultry imports from China. H.R. 2997 states that none of its funds may be used to establish or implement a rule allowing poultry products to be imported into the U.S. from China unless the Secretary of Agriculture formally commits in advance¹ to conduct audits, on-site reviews, etc. before any Chinese facilities are certified as eligible to ship fully cooked poultry products to the U.S.

The Secretary would also be required to (i) commit in advance to implement a significantly increased level of port of entry re-inspection; and (ii) commit in advance to conduct information sharing with other countries importing poultry products from China that have conducted audits and plant inspections;

H.R. 2997 states that this provision would have to be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international trade agreements.

(The House-passed version of H.R. 2997 contains language which simply prohibits any of its funding from being used to establish or implement a rule allowing poultry products to be imported into the U.S. from China.)

(See ITT's Online Archives or 07/09/09 news, 09070925, for BP summary on the USTR's request for comments on China's request for a WTO panel on poultry product imports into the U.S.)

Study on inspection of imported seafood. The Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, in consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator, would be required to conduct a study and, not later than 240 days after the date of enactment, submit a report to Congress on the technical challenges associated with inspecting imported seafood. The study and report shall:

provide information on the status of seafood importation, including (a) the volume of seafood imported into the U.S. annually, by product and country of origin; (b) the number of physical inspections of imported seafood products conducted annually, by product and country of origin; and (c) a listing of the U.S. ports of entry for seafood imports by volume;

provide information on imported seafood products, by product and country of origin, that do not meet standards as set forth in the applicable food importation law, including the reason for which each such product does not meet such standards;

identify the fish, crayfish, shellfish, and other sea species most susceptible to violations of the applicable food importation law;

identify the aquaculture and mariculture practices that are of greatest concern to human health; and

suggest methods for improving import inspection policies and procedures to protect consumers in the U.S.

Study on "organic" personal care product labeling. The FDA Commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, would be allowed to conduct a study on the labeling of personal care products regulated by the FDA for which organic content claims are made. Any such study shall include (a) a survey of personal care products for which the word "organic" appears on the label; and (b) a determination, based on statistical sampling of the products identified under paragraph (a), of the accuracy of such claims.

If the FDA Commissioner conducts a study described above, the Commissioner shall, not later than 270 days after the date of enactment, submit to specified Congressional committees a report on the findings of the study and provide such Committees with any recommendations on the need to establish labeling standards for personal care products for which organic content claims are made, including whether the FDA Administration should have pre-market approval authority for personal care product labeling.

Funding for GSM export guarantee programs. H.R. 2997 would provide funding to carry out the Commodity Credit Corporation's export guarantee program, GSM 102 and GSM 103.

Funding prohibition for certain inspection panel activities. H.R. 2997 would prohibit the use of its funds to carry out section 410 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 USC 679a) or section 30 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 USC 471), both of which are related to the Safe Meat and Poultry Inspection Panel.

Report on FAS reorganization status. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment, the Foreign Agriculture Service Administrator shall submit to Congress a report that describes the status of the reorganization of the Foreign Agricultural Service and any future plans of the Administrator to modify office structures to meet existing, emerging, and new priorities.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/05/09 news, 09080545, for BP summary of the Senate's passage of H.R. 2997.)

¹and at least once annually in subsequent years.

H.R. 2997, as passed by the Senate, available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2997pp.txt.pdf.

Senate Appropriations Committee overview of H.R. 2997 available at http://appropriations.senate.gov/Press/2009_08_04_Senate_Passes_FY_2010_Agriculture_Appropriations.pdf?CFID=9891103&CFTOKEN=93962099.