After a year of virtual programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) was ready and able in 2021 to continue providing top-notch educational experiences in a virtual setting to its members and customers around the world, while also joining stakeholders in person when possible.

The Council and its staff built upon knowledge gained in 2020 to adapt to the pandemic, help keep markets open and ensure grain is moving around the world. Programs to reach customers, end users and consumers have included online corn quality reports in Southeast Asia, technical seminars in Central America, best practices workshops for grain handling in Mexico and more. The Council has also discussed corn and sorghum harvests with stakeholders in China, the top purchaser of both grains, as well offering barley malting workshops to potential new customers in the country.

USGC has shown that hybrid events are possible as well, allowing attendees to join in-person or virtually for the 61st Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Des Moines in July.

In early September, the Council’s members and customers were faced with another obstacle as Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm and the fifth-most powerful storm to strike the United States in recorded history, made landfall in the New Orleans area. Following the storm, there was much uncertainty around the operation status of the Port of New Orleans, one of the top 10 busiest ports in the U.S. and the largest outlet for U.S. feed grain exports. As USGC members in New Orleans worked to resume operation, the Council informed stakeholders around the world of any updates received to keep grains flowing.

Policy changes also brought forth opportunities for the Council to support its members and customers, finding ways to encourage the use of U.S. grains and co-products whenever possible.

The Phase One Agreement between the United States and China, in which China agreed to expand baseline purchases of goods and services from the U.S. by $200 billion beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, came to an end on Dec. 31, 2021. The deal was an important development in the U.S.-China relationship, helping open the door for enormous corn sales in the past two marketing years. The Council sees the deadline as a starting point for enhanced and honest discussions about the complex economic relationship between the two nations.

In Mexico, the Council addressed the meaning of proposed bans on genetically modified (GM) corn and the herbicide glyphosate. The Council believes the elements of this decree go against our trading agreements under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) at the World Trade Organization (WTO). We have encouraged our government, through the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to take this up on a government-to-government level. The United States’ trading relationship with Mexico is positive for grains and grain products, and in 2021, the Council continued to work closely with the grain and feed industries in Mexico, who value U.S. commodities.

Revisions to Vietnam’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rates brought good news to U.S. commodity producers this year. As of Dec. 30, 2021, Vietnam reduced the import tax on corn from all origins to two percent from five percent and zeroed out the tax on wheat. The import tax on frozen pork will also be reduced from 15 to 10 percent beginning July 1, 2022. The Council’s work in Vietnam, in coordination with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) assisted in achieving this step taken by the Vietnamese government.

This year has shown that no matter the issue, the Council is ready to tackle it head-on in support of its members, customers and its mission to develop markets, enable trade and improve lives.