USMCA as a Framework: New Talks Between U.S., Ecuador, Uruguay

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 19:05:43 GMT

Two senior U.S. senators asked the Biden administration to start trade-agreement talks with Ecuador and Uruguay, using a pact with Mexico and Canada as a template to expand export opportunities with “trusted partners” in Latin America as China’s influence grows.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and fellow committee member Rob Portman — a former U.S. trade chief and an Ohio Republican — asked Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to capitalize on the success of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA) and expand relations in the Western Hemisphere.

Odds with Ecuador and Uruguay

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso met with U.S. counterpart Joe Biden Monday at the White House, where the leaders agreed that the countries had made historic progress in strengthening bilateral ties.

Lasso has previously noted that Ecuador is the only nation on the Western Hemisphere’s Pacific Coast that has no free-trade agreement with the U.S.

In Uruguay, President Luis Lacalle Pou has started free-trade talks with China, wooed Turkey and applied to join the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc as he seeks to open markets to for the nation’s goods and services.

More on trade :

U.S. Expands Dairy Clash with Canada Through the USMCA
U.S.'s “Candid” GMO Corn Conversation With Mexico Results In Changes To Looming Trade Dispute

‘Born, Raised, and Harvested’ South American Beef Containing Hard Plastic Found in U.S. Markets

Thu, 12 May 2022 13:50:44 GMT

South American beef imported to the U.S. under the label ‘Organic Rancher’ organic ground beef, packaged on April 20, 2022, may contain bits of hard plastic, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announcement .

Shipped to Whole Foods locations across the country, the 16-oz. vacuum-sealed packages containing 93% lean ground beef and 85% lean ground beef, both with use by date of May 18 could contain the pieces of the rigid plastic. Products also bear “EST. 4027” inside the USDA inspection mark.

No recall has been requested because the products are no longer available for purchase.

According to beef company, Organic Rancher, owner of Organic Rancher organic ground beef, claims their livestock are “born, raised, and harvested in Uruguay or Argentina on open, grassy pastures.”

Their beef also receives the stamp of Global Animal Partnership (G.A.P.) Step 4 Certification.

Under current import requirements, beef is allowed for import from Uruguay in raw, ready-to-eat and not-ready-to-eat shelf stable products. Raw beef is also eligible for import from Argentina , according to USDA-FSIS.