July 25, 2022 
Jim Sutter, Board Chair of USAEDC and CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, speaks during the July 14-15 Attaché Seminar.
Arlington, Virginia – Last week, the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council (USAEDC) featured a slate of international trade experts during the general session of its annual Attaché Seminar, which brings together USAEDC members and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service personnel to discuss market access, foreign market strategies, and challenges that U.S. agriculture faces worldwide.
Speakers included a panel on International Trade in a New World Order, with Craig Thorn of DTB AgriTrade, Jason Hafemeister of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rufus Yerxa of McLarty Associates, and Braz Baracuhy of Brazil’s Mission to the World Trade Organization, who joined the group remotely from Geneva. Also presenting remotely was Máximo Torero Cullen of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, who spoke about Threats to Food Security: War, Pandemic, Climate, and Politics. Bill Rooney of Kuehne + Nagel provided an overview of the global supply chain crisis, where improvements have taken place, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“Our industry was eager to network and discuss the key issues they are facing,” said Lorena Alfaro, Executive Director of USAEDC. “This was our first in-person event since the pandemic began, and their enthusiasm helped to make the seminar a success.”
Nearly 400 meetings took place between attachés stationed overseas with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and USAEDC members, who represent the spectrum of U.S. agricultural products sold worldwide. Attachés also participated in sessions offered by the U.S. Dairy Export Council and U.S. Soybean Export Council, which offered a deep dive into the industries and products they represent.
“The learning opportunities at this seminar, for both USAEDC members and the FAS personnel, are invaluable,” said Jim Sutter, Board Chair of USAEDC and CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council. “This year’s meeting provided an impressive lineup of speakers focused on issues of vital importance to the ag industry. We look forward to building on that for our annual conference this November and more events in the future.”
USAEDC’s Annual Conference will take place in Baltimore from November 16-18, 2022. For more information about the conference and other USAEDC events, visit usaedc.org/events.
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USAEDC’s members are U.S. commodity trade associations, farmer cooperatives, and state regional trade groups that represent the export promotion interests of growers and processors of virtually all U.S. agricultural products. Members collaborate closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to increase worldwide knowledge, preference, and demand for U.S. agricultural exports.