Food Labeling
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—June 12, 2023
International Trade: U.S. Initiates USMCA Dispute Settlement Consultations with Mexico on GMO Corn Ban 🌾
On June 2, 2023, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States has requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under Articles 31.2 and 31.4 of the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) concerning Mexico’s prohibition on the import of genetically modified corn for human consumption. The USTR announcement follows a June 1, 2023, letter from 62 Congress members urging the USTR to “immediately proceed with a formal USMCA dispute.” USTR’s request for dispute settlement consultations follows unsuccessful technical consultations […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—May 29, 2023
Water Quality: U.S. Supreme Court Provides Definitive Clarity to Definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) 🌾
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Sackett v. EPA, et al., No. 21-454, reversing and remanding the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and stating, “[W]e hold that the [Clean Water Act] extends to only those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right,” so that they are “indistinguishable” from those waters,” citing its own earlier plurality decision in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—May 15, 2023
Animal Welfare: U.S. Supreme Court Finds California’s Proposition 12 Swine Confinement Standards Constitutional as Applied to All California-Retailed Pork Regardless of State of Origin 🌾
On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of National Pork Producers Council, et al. v. Ross, et al., No. 21-468, affirming the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (No. 20-55631) and dismissing all claims that California’s Proposition 12 swine production confinement standards made applicable to all pork products sold in California, regardless of state-of-origin, violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
Dairy Policy: NMPF Files FMMO […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—May 8, 2023
Conservation Programs: USDA Begins Implementation Phase of Climate-Smart Commodities Program Projects 🌾
On April 27, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the beginning of the implementation phase of projects funded through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. With the implementation phase, USDA is launching the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Learning Network (Partnerships Network). This Partnership Networks allows for collaboration between projects. Producers interested in participating can find projects in their area through the project dashboard. For background, see ALWR—Dec. 16, 2022, “Conservation Programs: USDA Announces Additional $325 Million for Climate-Smart Commodities Projects” and ALWR—Sept. […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 17, 2023
Water Quality: North Dakota Federal Court Enjoins WOTUS Final Rule in 24 States 🌾
On April 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction immediately effective in 24 states against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) January 2023 WOTUS Final Rule in West Virginia v. U.S. EPA, No. 3:23-cv-00032. In addition to a previously-issued federal court injunction issued in Texas, effective in Texas and Idaho, the new injunction is effective in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 10, 2023
Water Quality: Stay Granted in Litigation on Petition to Compel Revision of Clean Water Act CAFO Regulations 🌾
On April 3, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit entered an order staying a petition for writ of mandamus filed against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by several environmental groups, pursuant to a joint stipulation filed by the parties in the case of Food & Water Watch, et al v. USEPA, No. 22-70226. According to the terms of the stay, EPA must respond by August 15, 2023 to a 2017 petition asking the agency […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—April 3, 2023
Water Quality: U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Hear Appeal Interpreting Citizen Suit Authority Under Clean Water Act 🌾
On January 30, 2023, Dakota Finance LLC (dba Arabella Farms) filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case which may provide clarity to the applicability of the Clean Water Act (CWA)’s authority to pursue citizen suits when a state agency has already commenced enforcement action under a state law “comparable to” the Clean Water Act’s administrative penalty provisions. Dakota Finance LLC, dba Arabella Farm, et al. v. Naturaland Trust, et al. No. 22-720. […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—March 20, 2023
WOTUS: Twenty-Four States File New Complaint Against EPA Challenging New WOTUS Rule 🌾
On February 16, 2023, a coalition of twenty-four states filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Eastern Division against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the new final rule defining “the Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). West Virginia et. al. v. Environmental Protection Agency et al., No. 3:23-cv-00032. The complaint alleges that the final rule regulatorily interprets WOTUS too broadly under the Clean Water Act (CWA), U.S.C. § […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—March 13, 2023
Biotechnology: U.S. Trade Representative Announces USMCA Technical Consultations On Mexican GMO Corn Ban 🌾
On March 6, 2023, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it is requesting technical consultations with Mexico “regard[ing] certain Mexican measures concerning products of agricultural biotechnology,” i.e., Mexico’s February 13, 2023, decree prohibiting import of genetically modified corn for human consumption. USTR initiates the technical consultations under Article 9.19 of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Chapter of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). According to a statement issued by USDA Secretary Vilsack, the United States “remain[s] firm in […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—January 16, 2023
Organic Agriculture: DOJ Indicts Multiple Companies and Individuals for Organic Fraud 🌾
On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of two Dubai-based agricultural companies and three Turkish residents for conspiring to export non-organic grain labeled as “organic” into the United States. The defendants are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and wire fraud. According to the announcement, in 2016, the defendants “shipped 16,250 [metric tons] of non-organic soybeans falsely labeled as ‘organic’ from Turkey to the United States where they were sold for over $10 million.” The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the […]
