NMA, AMI calls GIPSA proposals “deeply flawed†and “regulatory end-runâ€
Among the many proposed changes, packers would be banned from selling livestock to other packers, producers would not have to prove competitive harm to make anticompetitive allegations and private contracts would be made public on GIPSA’s website as soon as 10 days after the terms had been settled. These are restrictions and criteria that could stifle normal business operations, have been rejected by Federal courts and are contrary to a free and open market.
“Many of the proposed changes appear to be in response to unsubstantiated concerns while ignoring the results of industry and congressionally mandated studies. Under the guise of balance and transparency, it will cause upheaval and confusion while increasing the costs to the entire market chain. It’s going to have the opposite impact of what is intended,” said NMA CEO Barry Carpenter. “NMA has already called upon GIPSA to provide proof that the complaints the Agency referenced in the proposal as the basis for change have any validity.”