As AFI closes out its first century of existence, all signs point to a continuation of the momentum that has seen the organization make great strides over the past few years and a continuation of the principles that have marked AFI’s long service of history to the industry.
The principles are simple: AFI’s mission is to represent the interests of the food importing industry and to foster international trade and commerce of food products; AFI’s board of directors and staff , with input from the membership, seek to meet and foresee the needs of the industry and the AFI staff seeks to respond to the day-to-day needs of the membership.
By adhering to those principles, AFI has taken some important steps over the past few years to address some important issues and expand its horizons. An example of those expanded horizons is AFI’s Free Trade Agreement Program. When the Bush Administration made it clear it would aggressively seek to negotiate free trade agreements, AFI saw the need to get involved. There are definitive timeframes during these negotiations for input, so it was quickly realized that a well-structured, continuous program would best suit the needs of the membership. So we could act quickly, members were sent a detailed questionnaire to make sure the association knew what products members were importing and from what countries. Though we still go to the membership when new free trade agreement negotiations are announced, the information gathered through the questionnaires helps us to immediately know the approximate level of interest we have in each negotiation.
It’s difficult to put a dollar value on the success of such a program because often times the results cannot be measured. For instance, the program has gone a long way toward increasing AFI’s presence in Washington, both with government agencies and members of Congress. We do know skinless and boneless sardines were granted duty-free treatment in the Moroccan free trade agreement, something AFI pushed hard for. The duty savings will equal more than $500,000 per year.
AFI notched two other $500,000 victories recently as well. These victories pertain to reductions in duties on imports of processed artichoke products. That successful effort has led to a new project seeking reductions or eliminations of duties in imports of products such as pepperoncini, pimientos, sardines, capers and oysters.
As long as I’m listing success stories, I should congratulate a section of AFI, the North American Olive Oil Association, on its huge victory, the FDA approval of the NAOOA’s health claim for olive oil. The NAOOA did a fine job of researching the possibilities of getting a claim, putting together its petition and then having everything ready to take full advantage of the claim when it was announced. We know the claim will be a huge boost for the olive oil industry for many years to come.
The successes I’ve outlined above provide concrete examples of the benefits to belonging to AFI. There are countless others, including the many specific questions AFI members ask the AFI staff of the assistance members receive from AFI staff on problem entries, etc.
Looking ahead, AFI will continue to work on repeal of the Byrd Amendment, a law that creates a subsidy for a select group of domestic producers – at the expense of U.S. companies like yours and mine. This issue goes deeper than the dollar impact it has on us. It’s imperative importers of food and other products make it known to Congress the positive impact imported product has on the U.S. economy and that this impact must be considered before egregious laws such as the Byrd Amendment are considered.
Legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives last year to repeal the Byrd Amendment. Visits to members of the House by several members of AFI helped gain support for the bill. However, time ran out on us and a new bill has to be introduced in the new Congress. That will likely happen before this publication is printed. Members are urged to pay close attention to information sent out regarding the Byrd Amendment and send letters and contact their Congressmen when asked.
A key component as we move forward, whether it’s the Byrd Amendment, Free Trade Agreements Program, duty reduction efforts or almost any other issue, is input and participation by members. Though the AFI staff knows our business, they don’t and can’t know it the way we do. We have to let them know not-so-obvious ways a regulation impacts us. We have to make sure they know what products we import and from what countries. We have to send letters to and/or visit those who represent in Congress on important issues. AFI is your association. Your input and participation will help ensure it meets your needs.
