SSGA elects board members; Prather chosen as chair

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Rob Prather

Rob Prather

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance added one new member to its Board of Directors, re-elected two others and tabbed Rob Prather of Global Processing as its new board chair during its 2021 Annual Meeting on Friday.

Prather and past chairman Robert Sinner of SB&B Foods were re-elected to the board, and Bryan Stobaugh of the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council was elected to a third open seat.

Following the business meeting, the Board of Directors elected officers, and Prather was voted in as chair, moving up from his position of vice-chair.

“I’m humbled,” said Prather, chief strategic ambassador for Iowa-based Global Processing. “There’s definitely some big shoes to fill. I’m excited to be staying in the leadership. With the COVID-stunted progress that we’ve had, some things just didn’t quite get done. I’m excited that the U.S. Identity Preserved brand did get done – that was awesome – but I think there’s a lot more to do. Consistency and familiarity are what the people we deal with need, and I’m glad to be able to help provide that.”

Adam Buckentine of The Redwood Group was elected vice-chair and Colby Eymann of Scoular was elected secretary/treasurer.

“I’m really looking forward to continuing the work that’s already been happening at SSGA,” Buckentine said. “There’s a ton of great projects that are going on, and I’m going to do my best to use some of the knowledge that I’ve gained over the years in this industry to contribute.”

Earlier this year, Eymann was appointed to the board of directors following the resignation of Raquel Hansen. Eymann will complete the remaining two years of that seat’s term.

“I’m really excited and honored to join the board of directors here at SSGA,” Eymann said. “I think what’s really got me excited is the role of the U.S Identity Preserved brand and, together with Rob, as the chairman, and the rest of the board, pushing that out for U.S. soy and specialty grains.”

Stobaugh, who has served as chair of SSGA’s agronomy action team, was elected to the seat held by retiring board director Rick Brandenburger of Richland IFC. Other members of the SSGA Board of Directors include Darwin Rader of Zeeland Farm Services, Keith Schrader of Wheeling Grain Partnership and Andy Bensend of AB Farms.

“This is a group of such smart, talented people,” SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg said. “They not only represent all of the areas vital to SSGA and its members, but they have a passion for what they do. And that will only serve our membership and help our alliance grow and grow stronger going forward.”

SSGA’s annual meeting took place Friday at the Hyatt Regency in Bloomington, following the U.S. Identity Preserved launch event on Thursday in Minneapolis.

Besides board elections and the annual member business meeting, Friday’s agenda included several speakers and presenters, including: keynote speaker Sara Baer-Sinnott, president of Oldways/Whole Grains Council; ally spotlight speaker Ed Beaman, COO of U.S. Soybean Export Council; Molly Burns, branded program manager for Food Export-Midwest; Minnesota farmer and SSGA board member Keith Schrader; agronomists Dr. Tom Peters of North Dakota State University/University of Minnesota and Dr. Kate Warpeha of University of Illinois Chicago.

SSGA also announced its annual Alliance Honors, recognizing those who have made significant and sustaining contributions to the U.S. IP industry in 2021.

SSGA awards second annual Alliance Honors

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During Friday’s Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance annual meeting, the second annual SSGA Alliance Honors were awarded. The Alliance Honors gives the SSGA Executive Committee the opportunity to recognize those who have made significant and sustaining contributions to the U.S. IP industry in 2021. These awards recognize stewardship, as well as advancements in transportation, I.P. and SSGA as an organization.  

SSGA Alliance Honor for Advancing SSGA 

Mihiri Mendis, Ph.D., Product Development and Quality Assurance Manager, Richland IFC Inc.; Wahpeton, North Dakota. 

Mihiri Mendis receives this year’s Alliance Honor for Advancing SSGA. As a volunteer supporting SSGA in its negotiations with USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Dr. Mendis taught the industry and USDA many things we didn’t know about successful quality plans. She drafted significant new work on behalf of SSGA that convinced APHIS about the professionalism and standards our member companies maintain. Her time, dedication, creativity, and education steered us to make a significant breakthrough in this new program and taught SSGA staff and leaders about the industry they represent. SSGA thanks Dr. Mendis, and Richland IFC for their contribution to SSGA this year.  

SSGA Alliance Honor for Advancing IP 

United States Soybean Export Council, Southeast Asia Team; Singapore and regional representatives 

USSEC’s Southeast Asia team is recognized with the Alliance Honor for Advancing IP. The group has devoted itself to global education and regional marketing as host of the food soybean topic in the U.S. Soy Excellence Centers. The team assisted SSGA with five regional meetings for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand that resulted in millions of dollars of new sales by U.S. exporters of soybeans and specialty grains. The USSEC team provided tireless support in educating importers interested in sourcing IP field crops from the United States. And when we say “tireless,” that means working against all obstacles of time, day or night, considering the 12-hour time difference between the U.S. and Singapore and the other countries in the region.  

SSGA Alliance Honor for Advancing Transportation  

Darwin Rader, International Sales Manager, Zeeland Farm Services; Michigan and Iowa 

Mr. Rader is recognized with the Alliance Honor for Advancing Transportation. As chair of SSGA’s Competitive Shipping Action Team in 2021, he presided over the team, assisted staff and represented the industry at national and regional events, including the Global Trade Exchange & Specialty Grains Conference this summer in St. Louis. He was giving of his time and expertise, granting media interviews and participating on panels, in meetings, in strategy sessions and more. His voice is a powerful and insightful one in explaining and seeking solutions for the current global supply chain crisis. Mr. Rader always remembers to consider the people working in transportation and has been vocal in sharing the personal cost the past year’s difficulties have had on staff and families as businesses struggle to stay afloat. SSGA thanks Darwin Rader for his courage and conviction. 

SSGA Alliance Honor for Stewardship  

Andy Bensend, grower, entrepreneur, AB Farms & AB Farm Services; board member Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board; Dallas, Wisconsin 

Andy Bensend is recognized with Alliance Honor for Stewardship. Mr. Bensend chaired SSGA’s Governance Action team and advocated tirelessly on behalf of premium field crop growers in meetings, presentations, and financial grant applications this year. With his leadership, the governance team oversaw a successful rewrite of SSGA’s bylaws and an update in the organization’s strategy and goals. Mr. Bensend made phone calls, sent emails, and attended meetings that resulted in new financial contributions from members, and he committed his time to finding new members. Mr. Bensend provided staff education, insight, and content to SSGA outreach, ensuring the grower voice is part of the agronomy work we do as we seek ideas and solutions to challenges in the premium field crop industry. SSGA thanks Andy Bensend for his willingness to speak hard truths and advocate for SSGA.  

SSGA announces U.S. Identity Preserved: An advancement in food traceability

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Quality assurance plan benefits the U.S. soybean and specialty grain markets and global food manufacturers

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance announces the introduction of U.S. Identity Preserved, a designation signifying a premium crop with a verifiable origin. This quality assurance program represents a significant advancement in food traceability for food manufacturers, processors and exporters.

As traceability in food production becomes increasingly preferred by consumers and manufacturers, the U.S. Identity Preserved (IP) quality assurance plan and accompanying designation and website, USidentitypreserved.org, represent a step forward for customers looking for grains with specific traits or qualities such as variety, protein and sugar levels, color, bean size or flavor. When manufacturers purchase a U.S. Identity Preserved product, they can be assured the grains are traceable from their fields of origin throughout the process of production, processing, packaging and distribution, which provides the knowledge and assurance customers need.

“With our U.S. Identity Preserved designation, we’re delivering a quality assurance plan that brings together the U.S. IP industry and reinforces the United States as a quality origin for those IP crops,” said Eric Wenberg, executive director, Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance. “U.S. Identity Preserved will help U.S. processors and exporters broaden access and open more foreign markets, as well as better compete in the international market.”

Crops Grown with a Purpose

Customers can order specifically what they need for the future so IP producers can grow it today. This ensures quality, consistency and safety of food; fork-to-farm traceability, and a dependable supply so it is worthwhile for growers and customers alike.

“As a launch partner, Global Processing will begin using this new, industry-defining mark that signifies the value of U.S. Identity Preserved field crops,” said Rob Prather, chief strategic ambassador at Global Processing Inc and SSGA’s vice-chair. “This program enhances our offerings in sustainable, traceable and regenerative products ensuring a stable, consistent and healthy global food supply.”

Value adds value

With growing consumer and retail demand for increased understanding of how and from where food is produced, traceability has never been more vital. Growers participating in the program must follow rigorous specifications throughout the production process (pre-planting through harvest), storage, processing and distribution. This includes taking great care to avoid any cross-contamination, adhering to field verifications and program audits, chain of custody verification, proper labeling and product identification and other checks and assurances.

“The value U.S. Identity Preserved processors offer comes through the strict protocols and safety measures that ensure the quality, consistency and security of their products throughout the value chain,” Wenberg said. “Identity Preserved products demand a premium because of the close attention IP farmers, processors and shippers pay to quality requirements and safety and the commitment to fulfill the needs of their customers.”

Learn more about the designation, its benefits, the IP value chain and how to get involved at USIdentityPreserved.org.

Class act: Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance unveils SSGA University

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Organization offers learning modules on U.S. Identity Preserved system

MANKATO, MINN. – Class is now in session at the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance. It’s time to enroll at SSGA University!

SSGA, the premier business organization focused on U.S. Identity Preserved field crops, is giving it the old college try, unveiling an online educational platform that will teach the Identity Preserved system for U.S.-grown field crops. Importers and other buyers will learn how the U.S. Identity Preserved system for specialty soybeans and grains are grown and processed in the United States, as well as the core considerations and benefits of using U.S. IP crops as ingredients in the foods and products they manufacture.

Those who complete SSGA University courses will receive an official completion certificate from SSGA, along with access to SSGA University’s Identity Preserved technical manuals that will allow them to dig even further into their respective subject areas and keep them for future reference.

“Our program of Identity Preserved technical courses is directed toward new buyers who can benefit from acquiring U.S. IP products from the United States, as well as current buyers who have the desire to increase their knowledge of U.S. IP products,” SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg said. “We want to educate customers on what it takes to get U.S. Identity Preserved products to market, from producer to processor to end user. It will be a great training and educational resource for anyone who takes our courses.”

Classes begin with the IP Highway, a four-chapter course that focuses on the U.S. Identity Preserved system, including:

  • Defining Identity Preserved and the benefits of U.S. IP field crops
  • Traceability of U.S. IP products and demand for transparency
  • Intermodal transportation of U.S. IP products, including shipping logistics and costs
  • Purchasing U.S. IP products, including product verification and contract evaluation

After passing the IP Highway of courses, participants may choose from one or more of the next group of courses, which cover individual foods and how premium U.S. Identity Preserved ingredients vastly improve the quality, consistency and profitability of those products. Those courses include:

  • Soymilk and Tofu
  • Tempeh
  • Miso and Natto
  • Soy Flours
  • Specialty Grains

“For buyers, the advantage of taking these courses is seeing and truly understanding the benefit U.S. Identity Preserved field crops bring to their companies,” Wenberg said. “Although these premium ingredients may cost more at the onset, they will provide the greater value throughout the manufacturing process, resulting in better products for their own customers.”

Course modules were developed by SSGA in conjunction with Clutch, an agriculture and food businesses consultancy and agency. SSGA’s IP technical manuals were developed in conjunction with Clutch and the food and agricultural industry consulting firm Agromeris.

For more information, go to soyagrainsalliance.org/ssga-university/

SSGA Board of Directors meets – in person

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For the first time since early 2020 – before COVID-19 restricted travel and gathering – the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) Board of Directors held an in-person meeting. The eight-member board, along with SSGA staff, technical advisers and special guests met at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bloomington, Minn., on Tuesday, June 22.  

The SSGA Board of Directors met on Tuesday, June 22, in Bloomington, Minn., It was the first time the group held an in-person board meeting since February of 2020. Pictured are: (first row, left to right) Raquel Hansen, Keith Schrader, Andy Bensend, Rick Brandenburger; (second row) Executive Director Eric Wenberg, Adam Buckentine, Vice-Chair Rob Prather, Chair Bob Sinner, Secretary/Treasurer Darwin Rader.

“Meeting in person was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect,” SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg said. “We’re still praying for global safety and recovery, and it will be a wonderful thing when commerce is operating fully again and we’re all working in person.” 

While a few guests took in the meeting virtually, all board business and reports from staff, action teams and technical advisers took place live and in person. 

“Our technical advisers were a highlight,” Wenberg said, noting the group of Hoa Huynh (Southeast Asia), Alyson Segawa (North Asia), Eugene Philhower (Europe) and Phil Shull (India). “They showed the impact that we’re having globally.” 

Reports showed SSGA making progress in projects such as the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance protocol and IP website, SSGA University and inspection certification relief. 

SSGA Strategic Adviser for Trade and Transportation Bruce Abbe with SSGA Board of Directors Adam Buckentine, Bob Sinner and Darwin Rader.

“We also solidified our future by overhauling our bylaws,” Wenberg said. “That was an important stewardship moment, as we operate in trust of our members and want to have clarity and transparency at all levels.”

Prior to the official meeting, the board underwent media training put on by communicators from Ag Management Solutions. 

“We started the day with media training because SSGA, in 2021 and 2022, has a mountain to climb to make sure our concerns regarding container shipping and the Identity Preserved industry are heard in a public forum by leaders, growers, buyers and shippers,” Wenberg said.

SSGA connects member exporters to Vietnam with ‘IP B2B’

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By Shane Frederick, SSGA Communications Manager 

With a young population and a growing middle class, Vietnam is a burgeoning market for U.S. Identity Preserved (IP) soya and specialty grains, said Robert Hanson, agricultural minister counselor for USDA Foreign Agriculture Service in Hanoi. 

Hanson got the proceedings started for the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance’s third IP virtual seminar and “IP B2B” (business to business meetings). This week’s event connected U.S. Identity Preserved exporters with food manufacturers and importers in Vietnam (previous events were held for the Philippines and Indonesia). 

“U.S. food ingredients have a great reputation (in Vietnam),” Hanson said. “They’re considered safe and of high quality.” 

The young, middle-class population Hanson spoke of means there is a growing demand in the food and beverage sector, along with trends for healthier diets and increasing interest in traceability. 

“Soybeans for food use is growing 4-5% annually,” Hanson said, adding that Vietnam is expecting to purchase 500,000 metric tons of food-grade soybeans for products such as soymilk and packaged products.  

Vietnam is the seventh largest export market for U.S. food and agriculture, Hanson said, and bilateral trade between the two countries totaled about $8 billion in 2020, with $4 billion in trade flowing in each direction. 

In 2019, Hanson said, market access opened in Vietnam for U.S. sorghum. 

Nearly 70 people logged on to the Zoom meetings each day of the Vietnam event. That group included U.S. processors and exporters, Vietnamese food manufacturers and importers, and staff from SSGA and Spire Research and Consulting, along with a group of ace interpreters. 

The Day 1 agenda, moderated by SSGA IP Technical Adviser Hoa Huynh, also included presentations from: 

  • Rob Prather, SSGA vice-chair and chief strategic ambassador for Global Processing, who spoke about buying U.S. Identity Preserved field crops. 
  • Timothy Loh, Southeast Asia regional director for the U.S. Soybean Export Council, who talked about U.S. Soy sustainability initiatives. 
  • Nghia Tran Trong, Vietnamese representative for the U.S. Grains Council, who gave a U.S. specialty crops report. 

Speakers and presenters for Day 2, which was moderated by SSGA executive director Eric Wenberg included: 

  • Ben Petlock, senior agricultural attaché for FAS Ho Chi Minh City, on the Vietnamese market for U.S. agricultural products. 
  • Brian Sorenson, program director for the Northern Crops Institute, on NCI’s educational courses. 
  • Raquel Hansen, Minnesota IP farmer and SSGA board member on IP being “the value that adds value.” 

Petlock echoed some of Hanson’s comments as he detailed the Vietnamese ag market, saying there is “a lot of energy and a lot of growth” for U.S. agricultural products in Vietnam, whose 103 million population’s average age is 32 years old.

For the IP B2B portion of the event, U.S. suppliers and Vietnamese buyers were matched based on company profiles and put into Zoom breakout rooms, along with interpreters, for one-on-one video business meetings. U.S. participants each had as many to three B2B meetings each day.

“We want to source what the customer wants,” said Wayne Knewtson of Minnesota-based Knewtson Soy Products. 

SSGA has two more virtual seminars and IP B2B meetings scheduled – for Thailand (June 14-15) and Malaysia (June 28-29) – and is planning another for China to be held on a later date. 

SSGA staff visits Illinois members

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Staff from the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) hit the road in early May, traveling to Illinois to visit various members and supporters in the Land of Lincoln.

SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg and Market Development Project Manager Lee Steinhauer visit with staff from Hang Tung Resources during their recent trip to see members in Illinois.

“As business travel makes a comeback, many of us were a little surprised by how much meeting in person meant,” SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg said. “Lee and I were grateful to join our friends and learn about what’s needed to keep the premium grains business moving forward.”

Wenberg was joined by Lee Steinhauer, SSGA market development project manager, in their visits to representatives of Hang Tung Resources, US Nisshin Shokai, Clarkson Grain Company, Global Processing and others.

“It was a really good trip,” Steinhauer said. “We were able to talk to them about where they need help and where they appreciate us. We were happy to get out and see people face-to-face again, and they were happy to see people, too.”

Hang Tung Resources, an investment group that has grown into a multi-segment group covering grain, oilseed and textile commodity trading, as well as agricultural processing and other services, connects SSGA to operations overseas as a U.S.-based multinational.

Nisshin Shokai, a trading company that specializes in the niche demand for specialty soy ingredients, features world class logistics and a solid book for customers. Despite all its obstacles, the company is making trade happen for their customers. “It takes special, caring people to keep trade moving,” Wenberg said during in the visit.

Clarkson is a grain, oilseed and ingredient supplier specializing in IP, non-GMO and organic crops. Company founder Lynn Clarkson is credited in 1974 with beginning the movement of segregated direct farmer supply that grew into the Identity Preserved marketplace.

Global Processing is a supplier of non-GMO food-grade soybeans. SSGA Vice-Chair Rob Prather is the chief strategic ambassador for Global Processing. He puts in volunteer hours each week for SSGA to make the world grain business a better environment for the producer and processor. Customers both domestic and international keep asking for quality, he said.

“If they ask for clean soybeans in a 30 kg bag, they expect every bag to be 30 kg, no more, no less,” he said. “We pack them practically as well as Mars loads M&Ms, and our buyers love it. IP quality means I care.”

SSGA offers support for OSPA petitions

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Representatives of SSGA and the Organic Soybean Processors of America met last month to discuss how the two organizations might work together in the future. This week, SSGA offered its support to OSPA in its concerns about unfairly traded imports of organic soybean meal from India, writing a statement of support for anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions filed by the OSPA.  

In the letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission, SSGA stated that it “supports OSPA’s goal of ensuring a rules-based global market and level playing field for U.S. soya and specialty grains.”  

Please read OSPA’s press release below. And for more information, click here. 

U.S. ORGANIC PROCESSORS COMMEND THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT’S INITIATION OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO UNFAIRLY TRADED IMPORTS OF ORGANIC SOYBEAN MEAL FROM INDIA 

The Organic Soybean Processors of America (OSPA) commend the U.S. Department of Commerce for initiating an investigation into unfairly traded imports of organic soybean meal from India. OSPA is a coalition of the small and family-owned processors of U.S. Department of Agriculture–certified organic soybeans that yield the high-protein meal used in feed for organic poultry and dairy. While demand for organic meal is at its highest point in history due to U.S. consumers desiring more sustainable organic products, OSPA members are facing dire circumstances due to subsidized and dumped imports from India. Over the past several years, Indian organic meal has flooded the U.S. market, jumping from just 2% before the surge to now owning nearly 70% of the U.S. organic meal market. U.S.-produced organic soybean meal meanwhile has plummeted from 80% of the market to just over 30%.     

Domestic organic soybean meal processors have been forced to shutter or operate at a loss, making the U.S. organic poultry and dairy sectors almost entirely reliant on India. This over-reliance threatens the entire U.S. organics industry and consumers. COVID-19–related closures at India’s ports in 2020 caused shortages and skyrocketing prices. USDA then addressed longstanding claims of fraud in India’s organic industry. This again caused shortages and record high prices for Indian organic soybean products. OSPA has been warning of these issues for several years including meeting with members of the industry, Congress and various trade officials, but the industry would not change its ways. The challenges the U.S. organics industry now face are the consequences of an over-reliance on unfairly traded imports from India and existed well before OSPA filed its petitions. 

OSPA desires to level the playing field and establish a balanced organics market by requesting that Commerce and the International Trade Commission stop India’s unfair trade practices. The International Trade Commission will make a decision regarding the injuries suffered by OSPA members on May 17, 2021.  Should the ITC decide in OSPA’s favor, Commerce will make a decision on the amount of preliminary duties to impose on Indian organic meal by Fall 2021. This will allow U.S. organic companies that use Indian meal time to adjust over the summer to the challenges facing the market and meet current obligations. OSPA believes that the entire organic industry can benefit when all organic products are traded around the world in accordance with the rules. 

SSGA meets with Organic Soybean Processors of America

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The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) met with representatives of the Organic Soybean Processors of America (OSPA) on Wednesday to learn more about OSPA’s issues and have a conversation about how the two organizations might work together in the future.

Established in 2018, OSPA is a trade association that represents the U.S. organic soybean processing industry in advocating for fair and free trade. Currently, it is concerned with issues related to India.

OPSA is, according to its website, “working to monitor India’s foreign soybean meal subsidies and the impact on domestic mills. The U.S. government has filed documentation with the World Trade Organization highlighting India’s unfair subsidies.” OPSA is also “working to ensure U.S. trade offices include the organic industry in all trade negotiations.”

On March 31, OSPA filed an antidumping and countervailing duty petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission alleging that organic soybean meal from India is being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. Additionally, the petition alleges that India is providing unfair subsidies to Indian producers and exporters of organic soybean meal to the U.S.

Seeking to rally support for the cause, OSPA’s John Sheppard, president of Sheppard Grain Enterprises, and OSPA counsel Dan Ujczo met with SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg and executive board members Bob Sinner (chair), Rob Prather (vice-chair) and Darwin Rader (secretary/treasurer), along with communications manager Shane Frederick and Kim Nill, director of market development for the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council.

SSGA is also working on market access in India on behalf of U.S. Identity Preserved soya and specialty grains exporters.

View the Federal Register filing here.

Maffei designated FMC chair

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The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance congratulates Daniel Maffei, who was designated chair of the Federal Maritime Commission by President Biden on Monday.

Maffei, a native New Yorker who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representative as well as in the Department of Commerce for the Obama Administration, has served on the FMC as a commissioner since 2016.

“We commend the appointment of Daniel Maffei to FMC chair,” said SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg. “He is excellently suited for this position. He understands the trade issues we are facing amid the current container shipping crisis and the regulatory response needed to reduce the shocks to the supply system.”

Maffei co-authored a letter to the World Shipping Council regarding U.S. exporters concerns about cargo being refused by major ocean carriers and how that could be a violation of the Shipping Act. Those discriminatory practices were first brought to the public’s attention in October. Maffei has also supported the FMC’s investigation into detention and demurrage practices by ocean carriers.

In a statement released Tuesday, Maffei said this is a “critical time for our nation’s supply chain. Due to the effects of COVID-19 and an unprecedented import boom, we are dealing with serious challenges to America’s international ocean transportation system – challenges that the FMC has a vital role in addressing, both on its own as an independent agency and in cooperation with other agencies.”

Maffei replaces Michael Khouri as FMC chair.