Last week, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Doug McKalip as chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
President Biden’s announcement provides a much-awaited and needed voice for agricultural trade concerns within the USTR and White House, said American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) President and CEO Constance Cullman.
“We are pleased to hear of Doug McKalip’s impending nomination as chief agricultural negotiator. His experience working at the White House and advising for the U.S. Department of Agriculture makes him an ideal candidate for representing and advocating on behalf of U.S. agricultural interests to expand export opportunities and maintain U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace," said Cullman.
"We look forward to working with Mr. McKalip to leverage opportunities to tackle trade barriers and open new markets for the U.S. animal food industry.”
The U.S. animal food manufacturing industry relies heavily on trade. In 2021, U.S. animal feed and pet food manufacturers exported over $7.5 billion in products, including $5.5 billion in feed and feed ingredients and $2 billion in pet food products, a 22% increase in value over 2020.
AFIA says the industry’s exports support thousands of jobs across the feed industry and associated industries, and ensure that global farmers have access to the latest animal feed ingredients to help them produce food more efficiently and sustainably.
Grain associations also approve of McKalip's nomation
On the nomination, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) said McKalip has extensive international experience and more than 28 years of government service at the USDA.
"He will be able to use his strong background in farm and trade policy and his knowledge of biotechnology to advance trade priorities and open markets for U.S. corn, sorghum, barley and co-products," said USGC in a release. "Upon his confirmation, we look forward to working with him in his pivotal role at USTR.”
In addition to his current role at USDA and his coming work at USTR, McKalip also served as a Confidential Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture from 2009-2011 and Senior Advisor to the Secretary, where he handled all policy issues relating to agriculture biotechnology, coordinated federal policy for the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture.
The American Soybean Association is "thrilled" with the long-awaited announcement from Biden.
"U.S. agriculture faces numerous challenges on the global marketplace, and we are thrilled President Biden has nominated Doug McKalip," said Stephen Censky, ASA CEO.
"Doug understands these challenges deeply from his years of service at USDA and in the White House, and ASA is glad to have that expertise added to the team at USTR."
His nomination will now be submitted to the Senate Finance Committee where his confirmation process will begin.
