11.03.15

Hoeven Working to Ensure Domestic Honey Producers Receive Fair Compensation from Unfair Trade Practices

Senator Meets with American Honey Producers Association, Outlines Work to Support Honey Industry with Appropriations Measures

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the U.S. Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees, has outlined his efforts to help honey producers receive fair compensation for unfair trade practices in a meeting with representatives from the American Honey Producers Association, which works to promote the common interest and general welfare of U.S. honey producers. Hoeven is working to enact into law provisions that modify Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) payment system so that domestic producers receive the proceeds from anti-dumping settlements. The Honey Marketing Association believes the new legislation could result in more than $100 million in penalties from foreign honey producers engaged in unfair trading practices going to honey producers over the next several years.

“North Dakota is the top honey producer in the nation, and it’s important for us to ensure that our producers receive the compensation they deserve when they have been damaged by foreign producers,” Hoeven said. “During last week’s meeting, we discussed the Senate’s DHS Appropriations Bill, which includes a provision to provide our country’s honey producers with long overdue compensation for unfair foreign trade practices by directing the CBP to pay honey producers the money that they collect from foreign producers who violated U.S. trade practices.”

In addition to making sure honey producers receive fair compensation, Hoeven is working through his role on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture to secure funds that protect pollinator health through research and programs for farmers and ranchers, such as the Pollinator Health Initiative and pollinator research funds within the Agriculture Research Service (ARS). Specifically, in May, the Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2016 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which includes an increase of $4 million for research into bee health within USDA ARS, in addition to encouraging increased prioritization of pollinator and Colony Collapse Disorder research proposals within the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

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