7 USC 198 - Swine packer marketing contracts offered to producers

Collapse to view only § 198a. Swine packer marketing contracts offered to producers

§ 198. Definitions
§ 198a. Swine packer marketing contracts offered to producers
§ 198b. Report on the Secretary’s jurisdiction, power, duties, and authorities

§ 198. Definitions

Except as provided in section 198b(a) of this title, in this part:

(1) Market

(2) Packer

(3) Pork

(4) Pork product

(5) State

(6) Swine

(7) Type of contract

The term “type of contract” means the classification of contracts or risk management agreements for the purchase of swine by—

(A) the mechanism used to determine the base price for swine committed to a packer, grouped into practicable classifications by the Secretary (including swine or pork market formula purchases, other market formula purchases, and other purchase arrangements); and

(B) the presence or absence of an accrual account or ledger that must be repaid by the producer or packer that receives the benefit of the contract pricing mechanism in relation to negotiated prices.

(8) Other terms

(Aug. 15, 1921, ch. 64, title II, § 221, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 934(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1208.)

§ 198a. Swine packer marketing contracts offered to producers

(a) In general

(b) Availability

(d) Information collection

(1) In general

The Secretary shall—

(A) obtain (by a filing or other procedure required of each individual packer) information indicating what types of contracts for the purchase of swine are available from each packer; and

(B) make the information available in a monthly report to swine producers and other interested persons.

(2) Contracted swine numbers

Each packer shall provide, and the Secretary shall collect and publish in the monthly report required under paragraph (1)(B), information specifying—

(A) the types of existing contracts for each packer;

(B) the provisions contained in each contract that provide for expansion in the numbers of swine to be delivered under the contract for the following 6-month and 12-month periods;

(C) an estimate of the total number of swine committed by contract for delivery to all packers within the 6-month and 12-month periods following the date of the report, reported by reporting region and by type of contract; and

(D) an estimate of the maximum total number of swine that potentially could be delivered within the 6-month and 12-month periods following the date of the report under the provisions described in subparagraph (B) that are included in existing contracts, reported by reporting region and by type of contract.

(e) Violations

(f) Authorization of appropriations

(Aug. 15, 1921, ch. 64, title II, § 222, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 934(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1208.)

§ 198b. Report on the Secretary’s jurisdiction, power, duties, and authorities

(a) Definition of packer

(b) ReportNot later than 90 days after October 22, 1999, the Comptroller General of the United States shall provide to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the jurisdiction, powers, duties, and authorities of the Secretary that relate to packers and other persons involved in procuring, slaughtering, or processing swine,

(1) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), especially sections 6, 8, 9, and 10 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 46, 48, 49, and 50); and

(2) the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.).

(1) burdens on and obstructions to commerce in swine, pork, and pork products by packers, and other persons that enter into arrangements with the packers, that are contrary to, or do not protect, the public interest;

(2) noncompetitive pricing arrangements between or among packers, or other persons involved in the processing, distribution, or sale of pork and pork products, including arrangements provided for in contracts for the purchase of swine;

(3) the effective monitoring of contracts entered into between packers and swine producers;

(4) investigations that relate to, and affect, the disclosure of—

(A) transactions involved in the business conduct and practices of packers; and

(B) the pricing of swine paid to producers by packers and the pricing of products in the pork and pork product merchandising chain;

(5) the adequacy of the authority of the Secretary to prevent a packer from unjustly or arbitrarily refusing to offer a producer, or disqualifying a producer from eligibility for, a particular contract or type of contract for the purchase of swine; and

(6) the ability of the Secretary to cooperate with and enhance the enforcement of actions initiated by other Federal departments and agencies, or Federal independent agencies, to protect trade and commerce in the pork and pork product industries against unlawful restraints and monopolies.

(Aug. 15, 1921, ch. 64, title II, § 223, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, § 934(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1209.)