The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has ignored a request from U.S. sheep ranchers to initiate an investigation into harm caused by imports, particularly those from Australia and New Zealand, an industry group said on Thursday, telling the agency that if it doesn’t act, the group will take other steps to spur a probe.
R-CALF USA, a trade group representing U.S. cattle and sheep producers, last year asked USTR Katherine Tai to call on the U.S. International Trade Commission to open an investigation under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. It wants the ITC to determine the extent of what it deems injury to domestic sheep producers by imported products and recommend appropriate safeguard actions.
In a follow up Sept. 5 letter to Tai obtained by Inside U.S. Trade and an op-ed published the same day in Tri-State Livestock News, a trade publication for U.S. ranchers, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard lamented what he called the agency’s inaction.
“It’s now been over a year since American lamb producers made a formal request to the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Bullard wrote in the op-ed, saying that “this basic request by American lamb producers has been ignored. We’ve heard not a peep as to whether the USTR has any concerns at all regarding the demise of our U.S. sheep industry.”
In its request to Tai, R-CALF said U.S. sheep production has plummeted over the last three decades even as domestic consumption has grown. U.S. ranchers, the group said, struggle to compete with foreign producers – particularly those from Australia and New Zealand – that benefit from less stringent environmental regulations, favorable exchange rates and lower costs.
“We were very hopeful that our U.S. trade ambassador would recognize that this is part and parcel to her responsibility … to ensure that we maintain sufficient domestic food production supply chains to meet America's needs,” Bullard told Inside U.S. Trade in an interview on Thursday. “But if the USTR is not going to stand up and support our domestic agricultural producers, then we will go it alone. We will self-file a request for an investigation.”
Section 201 investigations are generally initiated by trade associations, companies or labor groups, but Bullard previously told Inside U.S. Trade the group believed it was appropriate to petition USTR to request an investigation as the case involves a trade deal previously negotiated by USTR – the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
In its follow-up letter sent Thursday afternoon, the group pressed Tai to make a decision on whether she will ask ITC to open an investigation.
“If not, then we will pursue other options as it is our mission to take necessary steps to rebuild and revitalize this important domestic industry,” the letter states.
Bullard’s letter, which includes additional supporting letters from the Idaho and Utah Wool Growers associations, also cites “anecdotal information” suggesting that at least one USTR official doubts that imported lamb or mutton are causing injury to domestic producers.
USTR declined to comment on the “anecdotal information” cited in the letter.
Inside U.S. Trade spoke to a Nevada sheep farmer who said a congressional aide who had recently spoken with USTR officials on the issue contended that some in the agency fail to see the damage. The farmer declined to disclose the congressional office involved; Inside U.S. Trade could not verify the claim.
A USTR spokesperson did confirm the agency had received the August 2023 letter from R-CALF requesting that Tai direct the ITC to open a Section 201 investigation.
“Immediately upon receiving R-CALF’s letter, USTR began a thorough review of the contents therein and all other relevant data. USTR’s internal review is ongoing, and we do not have further information to share at this time regarding internal deliberations,” the spokesperson said in an email, adding that the agency “is fully committed to taking all appropriate action to protect American ranchers, farmers, and workers.”
U.S. imports of sheep meat from its top sourcing countries has surged in recent decades, with Australia and New Zealand – the top two global exporters – driving the expansion. The value of imports from Australia has grown more than sixfold since 2000, reaching more than $761 million in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau trade data. Meanwhile imports from New Zealand have more than quadrupled over the same period, to $341 million worth in 2023.
If injury is proven, Bullard told Inside U.S. Trade, “we can go to Congress and we can ask for exceptions to the U.S.-Australia free trade agreement,” adding that “we cannot maintain a trade agreement for perpetuity that is literally destroying our domestic production capacity in our sheep and lamb industry.”
The Australian embassy directed a request for comment to the government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which could not be reached by press time. The New Zealand embassy did not respond by press time.
Some in Congress share R-CALF’s view that the ITC should launch a safeguard investigation into the impact of imports on domestic industry. Last November, a group of 14 House lawmakers – 10 Republicans and four Democrats – led by Ways & Means Committee member Blake Moore (R-UT) wrote to Tai echoing R-CALF’s calls for a Section 201 probe.
“We've heard that some congressional offices are receiving some responses, but with no indication of what direction the USTR is going,” Bullard said.
Moore’s office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Bullard sees legislative action as an alternative avenue to securing relief for U.S. sheep farmers. In his op-ed, he called on supporters to phone their congressional representatives and urge them to adopt tariffs on imports to protect the domestic industry.
Bullard told Inside U.S. Trade he has been pressing congressional offices to consider legislation that would establish tariff-rate quotas with higher out-of-quota tariffs “to provide our domestic sheep industry with space to begin rebuilding.”
Without protection, Bullard argued, the industry could go the way of the U.S. poultry and hog sectors, both of which, he said, have become dominated by a small group of multinational corporations.
“And so, we have a lot of work to do,” Bullard said. -- Oliver Ward (oward@iwpnews.com)