US/Mexico Working Group 2001 Work Plan

NOTE: This is a working document, subject to revision on a regular basis as activities proceed and new issues arise.

ISSUE	OBJECTIVE	FIRST STEPS	COMMENT
Association Policy Coordination	Full understanding of each other’s international and domestic policy positions, and coordination where possible and desirable	NASDA headquarters will provide a Spanish version of the summary of its current Farm Bill 2001 policy document by the end of August; AMSDA headquarters will provide a copy of its position paper for the incoming Mexican government administration when it is received	NASDA and AMSDA offices will continue to share the public policy documents which they develop in their separate efforts to assure proper federal attention to state and regional interests in their respective countries.
Biotechnology	High-level trilateral forum on biotechnology	Nebraska and Jalisco will contact government and industry groups to seek support for the project and develop initial ideas about how the event might be conducted; as soon as a specific proposal for the event has been put together, Jalisco will send it to Canada (via the Fed/Prov Trade Committee) for comment	Initial idea is a one-day forum, to be hosted by Mexico, in January or February; Canadians have concerns about traveling that distance for a one-day meeting; side meetings to develop common positions on specific issues before or after the forum are a possibility; Mexico to propose location (options mentioned were Baja California, Mexico City, Guadalajara)
Organic foods	Better understanding of evolving definitions and acceptable procedures in national and state/provincial systems	Baja California and California will disseminate information through their respective organizations on their joint conference on this topic on August 23, as well as a brief report on the event	Working group can consider future activities in this area, building on the results of the August 23 conference
Bean market regulation	Suggestions for improvement of Mexican bean quota administration	Durango has proposed a producers’ meeting on August 23 in Mexico City; Michigan will immediately communicate with U.S. industry leaders through its state association to determine whether adequate attendance can be organized for that date and inform Durango through NASDA staff; Michigan will take responsibility for extending invitation to Canadian producer organizations and provincial staff as well	Federal authority in this area is fully recognized; the objective would be to see if producers could find common ground on some issues, resulting in specific proposals to SECOFI. Federal officials would not participate in the meeting itself, but might be called in to hear the results of the producer-producer discussions. Urgency has to do with the timetable for SECOFI planning of next year’s import program.
Trade in beef and bovine offals	Regularization of trade on basis acceptable to producers in both countries	Vera Cruz will assist AMSDA HQ in obtaining information on appeals of anti-dumping determinations under Mexican law, to be made available to New Mexico and other interested states	Both countries’ beef industries consider the present state of affairs unsatisfactory; the Working Group needs to keep this topic open and actively seek ways to work effectively in this area
Border trade administration	Simplification and harmonization of procedures for the full range of agricultural products	Arizona will propose a meeting in Nogales during the coming year, to focus on the specific issue of where inspections are carried out for each category of agricultural product, and the impact of these policies on the pattern of trade during the meeting of the Agricultural Working Group of the Border Governor’s Conference in September	Objectives for discussion at the Border Governors Agricultural WG meeting will include identifying a counterpart state in Mexico to participate in the planning process, establishing an approximate date for the conference, and defining issue coverage
Trade in specialty crops	Support for crop diversification by encouraging trade in specialty crops	NASDA will put a link to the web site for the “From Mexico to the World” on its own web page, and encourage U.S. attendance at this exposition, taking place in Vera Cruz Oct. 6-8, 2000	NASDA and AMSDA can serve as channels for publicity of important state-sponsored trade events; these events can also be used as occasions for side meetings and other exchanges on working group issues
Cross-border cooperation among producer groups on marketing issues	Removal of legal barriers international cooperation of the sort already permitted under national laws	Lead states are Florida and Baja California; each will 1) review the relevant legal framework in its own country to determine the extent to which cooperation is already possible 2) exchange the texts of relevant laws with the other party 3) seek a specific communication from a producer organization which defines expected benefits from opening up cooperation of this sort	The Working Group agreed that it makes sense to start with a single commodity to explore this area; tomatoes were mentioned as a possibility, but there are a large number of other horticultural crops where U.S. and Mexican producers supply the same markets.
Avocado trade	Exchange among Mexican and U.S. producers	California will consider possible timing of visit of Commissioner and producers to Michoacan growing area	If timing can be worked out, formal invitation from Michoacan governor will follow; other U.S. and Mexican states would be invited to participate in the event
Grain trade	Encourage direct trading relationships	No specific action at this time	Jalisco and Nebraska will monitor progress of the grain seminar and quality monitoring program to ascertain whether it is meeting its objectives from the U.S. exporter and Mexican importer perspectives
Electronic meat inspection documents	Pilot project at the Nuevo Laredo/Laredo crossing point	Nebraska will check on progress toward obtaining funding for software development phase of project	Meeting of USDA, SAGAR, CAAREM and other involved parties scheduled for Aug. 9 in Mexico City; prototype U.S. certificates can be demonstrated in that meeting