On the question of cost

Jimmie Turner of USDA AMS responded to a query I gave him earlier about whether the USDA May 30 rule, referenced in this post, would preclude buyers from charging suppliers for trust notification.
Below is his response:


Below is AMS’ response to your query about the final rule on electronic trust protection, specifically: Does the rule address whether buyers can charge sellers to receive the PACA trust notice?:

“The rule does not attempt to regulate business relationships in new ways. Under the new rule, there are no restrictions on the buyers’ and sellers’ negotiating -- as they always have -- prices for product, freight, brokerage, late fees and all the other details of their contracts, including the methods and cost of trust notification.”


TK: While the agency "punted" on this issue, the USDA eventually needs to stipulate that buyers are prohibited from charging suppliers for any reason relating to the communication of PACA trust language.

We have met the enemy and

Wal-Mart's number one challenge is its reputation, says a brutally frank document prepared by Wal-Mart's former ad agency. Wakeup Wal-Mart published the leaked document and had this press release about the report.

WASHINGTON, May 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WakeUpWalMart.com,America's campaign to change Wal-Mart, released a stunning new internal document prepared for Wal-Mart by its old advertising agency, GSD&M. The document, entitled "Wal-Mart Positioning Report," states, in often brutal detail, the serious public image challenges Wal-Mart faces. According to GSD&M, and described in a section entitled "Know thy Enemy," Wal-Mart's reputation problem is the #1 challenge facing the company. The 55-page GSD&M report, which was based on a series of focus groups and interviews, states, "Wal-Mart is a highly politicized brand," and its public image is directly threatened by the "corporate brand that is portrayed in the media as a bad corporate citizen who doesn't treat employees well and isn't acting as a good citizen of the planet. That brand is increasingly becoming a force that is casting doubts on the consumer brand that people know and love. If it continues unchecked, we may see avery different categorization of Wal-Mart than we saw in the preceding exercise." Among other highly significant conclusions in the "Know Thy Enemy"section, where GSD&M identifies Wal-Mart's reputation as its #1 business challenge, are (a) Wal-Mart's consumer ratings as a "company I trust andrespect" have steadily declined over the last two years, and (b) Shopping at Wal-Mart used to mean saving money and being patriotic, being a member of the community, being a part of the "American Dream." Today, it just means saving money. All value - no values.


TK: Well, the former ad agency didn't pull any punches - I wonder if that is why they are the former ad agency. With more and more media buzz about how shabbily Wal-Mart treats employees and how they pull vast amounts of goods from China, the idea of Wal-Mart representing American "values" has taken a hit over the past 15 years. We can plainly see that Wal-Mart is trying to become a better corporate citizen, particularly in relation to environmental concerns. Can it again represent "value" and "values" to the middle and upper middle class?

The first `link to the document goes to the Fresh Produce Discussion Group. The paper can also be found at www.wakeupwalmart.com.