"Mississippi catfish farmers suffered as Vietnam illegally dumped their faux-catfish on our markets. The World Trade Organization has affirmed this and we have followed up that affirmation with tariffs, but we must now address the needs of the past damage to our catfish industry. Our catfish farmers are now eligible to apply for TAA benefits," Congressman Pickering said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has certified a petition for catfish producers in Mississippi and 17 other states under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers program. FAS determined that during January-December 2002 increased imports of faux-catfish and fillets of Vietnamese basa and tra contributed importantly to a decline in domestic prices for catfish producers in Mississippi, when compared with the previous 5-year average.

Under the TAA program, USDA provides technical assistance and cash benefits to producers if an increase in imports of a like commodity has contributed importantly to a decline in price and a loss of income. Other states qualifying are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

Producers may obtain a TAA application (FSA-229) from
http://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eforms/mainservlet or from their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) service center. Producers have until Feb. 17, 2004, to submit their application to FSA. After they submit completed applications, technical assistance and training will begin as soon as possible. Financial payments will not be made until after applications are certified.

For further information about the TAA program, contact Jean-Louis Pajot, Coordinator, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers, FAS, USDA, (202) 720-2916, e-mail:
trade.assistance@fas.usda.gov.

Chip Pickering is currently serving his fourth term as a Republican member of the United States Congress. He represents the Third District of Mississippi and serves on the Agriculture Committee and the Energy & Commerce Committee.