Letter to the Hon. Sonia Jimenez, Deputy Administrator of the USDA Specialty Crop Program - Maloney Leads Bipartisan, Bicameral Letter to the USDA on Behalf of Hudson Valley Onion Farmers
Letter
Dear Mrs. Jimenez,
We write to you regarding the March 9th decision from the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to eliminate Federal Marketing Order #959, which suspended section 8e import inspection requirements for onions. This decision effectively blindsided our nation's onion growers and came with no prior notice.
There are currently over 900 million pounds of onions in storage across our states including New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that would have been required to compete directly against sub-standard foreign product. The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in higher inventories for many growers as restaurants, schools, and other entities have been closed or operating in a reduced capacity. This latest USDA action will have severe market implications and drive down the value of onions for U.S. growers in an already difficult year.
We request that USDA outline a process to inform onion growers of this decision and answers to the following questions:
What influenced USDA's decision to suspend the Section 8e import requirements with such short notice and without the advisement of relevant industry groups?
Why did the USDA decide to completely suspend the Section 8e requirements without, at the very least, requiring foreign onions to make a U.S. #2 grade in order to enter?
Why did USDA initially decide to proceed with the suspension without a formal comment period and notification to relevant stakeholders and Members of Congress?
As our growers seek to market their crop for the next 90 days, we believe it is imperative that USDA provide answers to the above questions to reassure growers that all decisions made by AMS moving forward include input from the producers and industry that such decisions will impact.
We thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Source