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NAMA Joins President in Push for Trade Promotion Authority

WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 17, 2002 - The North American Millers' Association (NAMA) joins President Bush in his call to the Senate leadership to bring Trade Promotion Authority to the Senate floor by April 22.

"The time to pass TPA and assure our competitiveness with the rest of the world is now," said Bernard J. Rothwell III, NAMA chairman. "The U.S. share of world markets for milled grain products has been seriously eroded since 1996 due to export subsidies of competitor nations. The successful launch of a new round of worldwide trade negotiations in Doha included a commitment to phase-out agricultural export subsidies. However, the potential gains to farmers, processors and all of agriculture raised by Doha will only be realized when Congress passes TPA. The U.S. has assumed a leadership role in the fight against terrorism and the U.S. assumed a leadership role at Doha. The U.S. must be able to assume a leadership role in trade negotiations, and our trading partners will only take us seriously if the President and his representatives have the authority necessary to reach agreements."

That is the message being voiced by members of NAMA as they visit their Congressional representatives April 16-17 during the organization’s annual Government Relations Conference.

NAMA has 42 member companies operating 165 wheat, corn, oat and rye mills in 38 states and 150 cities. The aggregate production capacity of NAMA's membership is more than 160 million pounds of product daily, which is about 90% of the total U.S. capacity.

Hill Contacts:

For a list of NAMA members go to http://www.namamillers.org/a_mbr.html.

For a list of the cities and states where mills are located go to http://www.namamillers.org/a_mill.html.

Media Contacts:

To read NAMA's position on goals for the WTO go to http://www.namamillers.org/is_wto.html.

For background information on TPA go to http://www.namamillers.org/is_tpa.html.

For a bio on Bernard J. Rothwell III go to http://www.namamillers.org/is_Rothwell.html.

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Contact NAMA

North American
Millers’ Association

600 Maryland Ave SW,
Suite 825 West
Washington, DC 20024

TEL: 202.484.2200
FAX: 202.488.7416

EMAIL: generalinfo@namamillers.org

Industry Partners

Protein Grain Products For A Healthier World

The world food and nutrition situation has changed so dramatically in recent years that all nations must now discover new approaches and find better solutions to the problem of providing adequate food for growth, development and health of the world's population. One of the most practical and acceptable ways to deal with this problem is to upgrade the quantity and quality of the cereal proteins.

The protein grain products processed by the member firms of the North American Millers' Association (NAMA) were specially formulated to achieve the highest nutritional quality at the lowest possible cost. Products shipped by these firms must meet rigid U.S. government specifications for quality, uniformity, sanitation, packaging, and inspection.

Designed primarily to combat hunger and malnutrition, protein grain products are used extensively in the U.S. Food for Peace program and also in the major humanitarian and assistance programs carried out under the auspices of the United Nations. In addition to being a major supplier of high quality food products, NAMA members work closely with the U.S. Voluntary Agencies, the office of Food for Peace, the United Nations organizations, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in providing various technical support activities.

Basic commodities such as bulgur and corn meal have been used in domestic and overseas-donated food programs for many years. Both are nutritionally similar to whole wheat and corn and are easily prepared into a wide variety of dishes. Their value in the daily diet is unquestioned.

In recent years, industry and government food technologists have achieved a major nutrition breakthrough with the blending of soy flour or soy grits with cereal grain products. Soy flour and soy grits not only increase the level of protein but also contain high level of the amino acids, which are limiting in most cereal grains. As such, it is possible, through blending, to create a protein food with an amino acid profile and utilizable protein content comparable to that of meat and milk. Vitamins and minerals are added to many of these blended foods to provide a convenient and economical source of essential nutrients.

To maximize overseas commercial exposure to protein grain products, the association is works closely with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service on a wide range of market development and expansion programs in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Protein grain products have not only proven successful at the retail level but also show good potential for application in institutional feeding programs. The blended foods are pre-cooked and make excellent weaning foods because of their low cost, high protein quality, and enrichment with vitamins and minerals.

The member firms and Washington staff of the North American Millers' Association are dedicated to the concept of a healthier world through better nutrition and have pledged our entire resources to the research, development, production and export of the highest quality nutrition foods at the lowest possible cost.

Agencies or organizations interested in more information about the protein grain products described in this web site may direct their inquiries to generalinfo@namamillers.org.



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