11/19/07 Time to tackle cargo preference again?

Farm and Ranch November 19, 2007 U.S. cargo preference laws require among other things, that 75 percent of U.S. food aid be shipped on U.S. flagged vessels. Given that the freight rates of U.S. vessels are generally substantially higher than those of foreign flagged carriers, the U.S. wheat industry has long opposed the cargo preference and has periodically tried to change it. Another attempt may be forthcoming. Mick: "Cargo preference has hindered our exports of food aid. When you put the numbers together, and we could feed so many more people and supply thousands more metric tons of wheat to recipient countries if we could get this issue taken care of." That's Tom Mick, CEO of the Washington Grain Alliance who says he recently heard that freight costs of a U.S. carrier were a 100-dollars a ton more than what a foreign carrier would take. Mick: "That just shouldn't happen. I know we want to have a strong maritime fleet in time of war but realistically you would never use that type of bulk carrier to support the military. So, yes, it needs to be addressed." The major obstacle to change are the strong maritime unions but Mick says it is a good time to raise the cargo preference issue again. Mick: "We are having a farm bill. The sentiment in Congress is to reduce subsidies. So if we in agriculture are going to take a hit I think it is appropriate that you look at the Maritime Administration because what we are wasting there is just phenomenal." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.