Milling & Baking News - October 19, 2004 - 13

I N D U S T R Y

A C T I V I T I E S

Congress eliminates export tax
cut; replaced with domestic cut
WASHINGTON - In a move that
couples domestic corporate tax rate reductions with the elimination of certain
tax benefits for exporters, the Senate has
passed legislation replacing the Foreign
Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Tax Regime.
The repeal of the F.S.C./E.T.I. portion of
the U.S. tax code became necessary when
it was determined by the World Trade
Organization to be an illegal subsidy. In
March, the European Union retaliated
with punitive 5% tariffs on a variety of U.S.
products. The rate has been increasing by 1
percentage point a month with a 17% cap.
As of Oct. 1, the tariff rate was 12%.
Under the F.S.C./E.T.I. provisions, the
income tax on certain U.S.-manufactured
goods that were exported is reduced from
the ordinary 35% rate to 27% to 32%.
The Senate on Oct. 11 voted 69 to 17
to pass the measure eliminating the cut,
after a 280 to 141 vote in the House of

Representatives the week before.
Under the final bill, E.T.I. export tax
breaks for corporations would be phased
out over two years while tax rates on domestic manufacturing would be reduced
in phases over five years from 35% to
32%. The changes would affect not only
corporations, but also partnerships, sole
proprietorships and other small businesses.
The bill was expected to end European trade sanctions, though E.U. officials
have voiced concern about the two-year
phase out.
U.S. agricultural exporters were
pleased by the change. Commending Congress for taking the action, the
National Grain Trade Council pointed
out that the legislation allows exporters
of U.S. agricultural products - bulk
and processed - to benefit from new
domestic corporate tax cuts for manufacturers. During the legislation process,

Julie Jones receives A.A.C.C.
Geddes award for industry work
SAN DIEGO - The American Association
of Cereal Chemists awarded Julie Jones,
professor of nutrition and food science
at the College of St. Catherine, with the
William F. Geddes Memorial Award, one
of the association's highest honors. The
award was presented Sept. 20 during the
A.A.C.C.'s annual meeting awards ceremony in San Diego.
The Geddes award is given in recognition
of the leadership and dedication of the late
William F. Geddes, who held several roles
at the A.A.C.C., including president (19381939), vice-president (1937-1938) and Cereal
Chemistry editor-in-chief (1943-1961).
In 1961, the Geddes award was created to
honor the zeal and unselfish industry of an
individual member and to emphasize the

importance of his or her contributions to the
work of the association.
"Julie has consistently provided exceptional service and leadership to
A.A.C.C. over the past three
decades," said Steve Nelson,
executive director of the
A.A.C.C. "Julie's unsurpassed
level of commitment to A.A.C.C. has
made and continues to make a significant
impact within our association."
An A.A.C.C. member since 1974, Ms. Jones
has been involved in the A.A.C.C. at all levels.
She was A.A.C.C. president-elect in 19981999, president in 1999-2000, and chair of the
A.A.C.C. board of directors in 2000-2001.
Ms. Jones has participated on many
committees, including the Headquarters

U.S.D.A. partners with industry
in trucking security guidance
WASHINGTON - A new, voluntary security guidance document for truck transporters of agricultural commodities and food
products has been released by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
The guidelines are meant to "bolster national security and safeguard public health,"
the U.S.D.A. said. The Department said up
to 27,000 commercial transporters of agricultural and food-related products may benefit
14 / Milling & Baking News, October 19, 2004

from the Guide for Security Practices in Transporting Agricultural and Food Commodities.
"These guidelines are practical, flexible
and proactive," said Agriculture Deputy
Secretary Jim Moseley during the American
Trucking Association's (A.T.A.) Agricultural
and Food Transporters' Conference (A.F.T.C.)
being held here. "U.S.D.A. developed this
document in partnership with A.T.A./
A.F.T.C. and it serves as a great example

concerns had been raised over whether
only manufacturers would benefit from
the cuts and that agricultural exporters
would be excluded.
"This has been a major issue for
N.G.T.C. for the last several years since
our grain company members account for
the majority of U.S. grain exports, and
we have been tireless in our efforts to
ensure that agriculture is included in any
final legislation," stated Julia J. Kinnaird,
N.G.T.C. president. "U.S. agriculture, all
along in this dispute, has faced significant exposure as both farmer agricultural
cooperatives and private companies established F.S.C.s as a necessity in order
to competitively export U.S. agricultural
products overseas."
The N.G.T.C. noted that the tax benefit
provided by F.S.C./E.T.I. was intended
to offset in a small way the significant
competitive advantage that most European and other countries provide their
exporters through a refund of accumulated Value Added Taxes ("VAT") when
domestically produced goods are sold
outside their borders. MBN

Operations Committee, Finance Committee, Executive Committee, Scientific
Advisory Panel, Professional Development
Panel, Emerging Issues Committee, Teaching Awards Committee, Scholarship and
Fellowship Committee, Book Committee,
Cereal Foods World Advisory Committee,
and the ad-hoc Committee
to Define Dietary Fiber. She
currently is the chair of the
Whole Grain Task Force Committee and has chaired the Food
Focus - Hot Topics in Nutrition
Committee, National Short Course Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee,
Geddes Memorial Award Committee, and
has participated in several A.A.C.C. short
courses and conferences.
Ms. Jones also was chair, chair-elect, and
treasurer of the A.A.C.C.'s Northwest Section
and was a member of the Northwest Section's
Long-Range Planning Committee. MBN

of how successful we can be when government and the private sector work together
on homeland security. This partnership will
serve as a model for future efforts."
The U.S.D.A. said the A.T.A. and the
A.F.T.C. jointly conducted a survey of
24,000 agricultural and food industry
transporters for their concerns regarding
security, terrorism and where and how to
obtain information.
The Department said the guidance is consistent with and in support of "Homeland
Security Presidential Directive-9, Defense of
United States Agriculture and Food." MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - October 19, 2004

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - October 19, 2004