United Fresh Comments on Transportation and Agriculture Departments’ Efforts to Relieve Supply Chain Disruptions
WASHINGTON, DC - Here at ANUK, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the supply chain hurdles and the actions the United States government has taken to alleviate the challenges. As we reported last month, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their administration announced a set of concrete steps to help the U.S. ports, waterways, and freight networks. The government is continuing to focus on these issues as the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a roundtable discussion last week. In response, the United Fresh Produce Association voiced its support of the initiatives.
“United Fresh supports continued efforts by the Biden Administration to address the challenges impacting our West Coast ports that are vital to the fresh produce supply chain,” commented United Fresh in the release. “As Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg and [Tom] Vilsack say clearly in their letter, ‘The poor service and refusal to serve customers when the empty containers are clearly available is unacceptable.’ For both those engaged in imports or exports, the current situation is untenable. That is why United Fresh has also lent its support to the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which recently passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.”
In the letter, Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg and Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack urged the world’s leading ocean carriers to help mitigate disruptions to agricultural shippers of U.S. exports and relieve supply chain disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic by restoring reciprocal treatment of imports and exports and improving service.
To address the issues being faced on land, Buttigieg, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and White House National Economic Director Brian Deese met with trucking industry leaders at the White House on December 16. The discussion focused on efforts to retain and recruit new drivers and address other longstanding workforce challenges.
“In addition, United Fresh is encouraged by Secretary Buttigieg’s collaboration with the trucking industry to find solutions to help address labor challenges to ensure we have a workforce to feed our country and ensure that American consumers have access to our industry’s bounty of fresh produce,” continued the association. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration and Congress to address these challenges throughout our supply chain.”
Keep an eye out for ANUK as we report on the latest development concerning all things fresh.
