CAES Faculty Appointed to USDA, USTR Advisory Panels

Two faculty members from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences are among 67 members who have been appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to prestigious international trade advisory committees.

The advisors, who serve three-year terms, will provide guidance to the USDA and USTR on trade policy matters, including the operation of existing trade agreements and the negotiation of new ones. The advisors meet in Washington, D.C., and are selected from backgrounds in industry as well as academia, advocacy groups and non-government organizations.

Leonard Williams, Ph.D., director of the Center for Post-Harvest Technologies, was appointed to the advisory panel for trade in processed foods. This is his second appointment to the panel.

“It will be a busy time,” Williams said. “We’ll be rewriting the book from the previous administration, which happens every time an administration changes. We want to make sure we’re getting a fair price on our exports.”

Tariffs and new commodities may be prevailing issues for his panel, he said.

Osei Yeboah, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education, has been appointed to the panel for trade in animals and animal products. He is also the director of the International Trade Center in the CAES. This is his first appointment.

After being selected for the panel, Yeboah said, he decided to focus on international issues with animal trade because of his knowledge of N.C. pork production.

“North Carolina exports a lot of pork and pork products, and I have several research articles and conference presentations on the state’s pork trade,” he said. “Also, I have been to China on one of the Trade Center’s projects to secure markets for the state’s pork producers.”

Issues will include setting tariffs, quotas, sanitary issues, and discussing possible trade barriers, Yeboah predicts.

The appointments for both run to 2025.