According to a posting in the January 16th edition of Monday Line, representatives of the National Chicken Council, the National Turkey Federation and United Egg Producers together with USAPEEC trade advisor, Dr. John Clifford and Garrett Borkhuis the Trade and Technical Services Director of USAPEEC met with APHIS leadership to review the status of HPAI and the restoration of trade. Differences among the three segments of the poultry industry with respect to the need for vaccination as a concurrent control measure that emerged during the 2015 epornitic have resurfaced in recent months. Despite the differences all parties were in agreement that trade is an important factor contributing to the profitability of all three segments.
The restrictions placed on the U. S. as a result of HPAI were also reviewed at a meeting between Greg Tyler, USAPEEC President and CEO, with U. S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and Doug McKalip, Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the USTR. The USAPEEC is justifiably concerned over restrictions on trade imposed by importers and the resources of USDA are required to eliminate artificial barriers.