Part B - Swine Packer Marketing Contracts

7 USC 198 - Definitions

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

(1) Market
The term market means the sale or disposition of swine, pork, or pork products in commerce.

(2) Packer
The term packer has the meaning given the term in section 1635i of this title.

(3) Pork
The term pork means the meat of a porcine animal.

(4) Pork product
The term pork product means a product or byproduct produced or processed in whole or in part from pork.

(5) State
The term State means each of the 50 States.

(6) Swine
The term swine means a porcine animal raised to be a feeder pig, raised for seedstock, or raised for slaughter.

(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
Except as provided in this part, a term has the meaning given the term in section 1635a or 1635i of this title.

7 USC 198a - Swine packer marketing contracts offered to producers

(a) In general
Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this section, the Secretary shall establish and maintain a library or catalog of each type of contract offered by packers to swine producers for the purchase of all or part of the producers production of swine (including swine that are purchased or committed for delivery), including all available noncarcass merit premiums.

(b) Availability
The Secretary shall make available to swine producers and other interested persons information on the types of contracts described in subsection (a) of this section, including notice (on a real-time basis if practicable) of the types of contracts that are being offered by each individual packer to, and are open to acceptance by, producers for the purchase of swine.

(c) Confidentiality
The reporting requirements under subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be subject to the confidentiality protections provided under section 1636 of this title.

(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
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this subchapter for any packer to willfully fail or refuse to provide to the Secretary accurate information required under, or to willfully fail or refuse to comply with any requirement of, this section.

(f) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to carry out this section.

7 USC 198b - Report on the Secretarys jurisdiction, power, duties, and authorities

(a) Definition of packer
In this section, the term packer has the meaning given the term in section 191 of this title.

(b) Report
Not 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, pork, or pork products that are covered by this Act and other laws, including

(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.