The Food and Agriculture Export Alliance (FAEA), established in May 2004, serves as a pivotal entity fostering enhanced collaboration and effectiveness in gaining market access for a diverse array of U.S. agricultural products, including meat, poultry, dairy, feed grains, rendered products, and soybeans. FAEA's overarching aim is to bolster cooperation among various commodity groups and private sector entities, focusing on developing international markets. A significant part of this endeavor involves mitigating sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers, thereby broadly supporting the U.S. agricultural sector, with a particular emphasis on the grain, oilseed, and animal industries.

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FAEA's strategic objectives include advancing international food and feed safety regulations to align with science-based international standards. Recognizing non-tariff barriers—such as those associated with food and feed safety under SPS regulations, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and the standards recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission—as a critical area of concern, FAEA prioritizes these issues. As traditional trade barriers diminish through multilateral and bilateral agreements, non-tariff barriers have emerged as significant impediments to agricultural trade. Often referred to as the "trade barrier of choice," SPS constraints represent a substantial threat to both current and future expansion in global agricultural trade.

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Collectively, FAEA members represent approximately 42% of U.S. agricultural exports. The application of non-scientific barriers to trade by foreign governments is common to all the products represented by FAEA members.

 

The current members of the FAEA include:

 

MAP Participants

• American Feed Industry Association (AFIA)

• North American Renderers Association (NARA)

• U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC)

• U.S. Grains Council (USGC)

• USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC)

• U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)

• U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)

 

Commodity Groups

• National Pork Producers Council (NPPC)

 

Private Sector Input Providers

• Elanco

• Merck Animal Health

 

FAEA activities are funded through a combination of FAEA membership funds and USDA’s Market Access Program as a Global Based Initiative (GBI).  FAEA’s GBI is submitted on an annual basis via the USGC’s Unified Export Strategy (UES).

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Gina Tumbarello

Executive Director

Food and Agriculture Export Alliance