New Director of the PACA Division

Date
November 09, 2015

I am pleased to announce that Ms. Judith Rudman will be joining the Specialty Crops Program (SCP) leadership team as the new Director of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) Division.  She brings diverse expertise in trade and compliance to support our mission of ensuring fair trade in the produce industry.  I’d like to share a bit about Judy and encourage you to reach out to her once she begins this position on December 14, 2015.

Judy is currently the Director for Bilateral Agreements in Enforcement and Compliance’s Office of Policy at the Department of Commerce.  She was responsible for administering all aspects of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) suspension agreements, as well as other bilateral agreements related to AD/CVD cases.  With over 20 years of government service, Judy has a long history of administering the Mexican Tomato Suspension Agreement, which includes PACA enforcement provisions.  She has administered cases on other agricultural products, including lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico.  Most recently, Judy collaborated with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) on the suspension agreements on sugar from Mexico.  Judy has a B.A. in International Relations from Knox College, an M.A. in Political Science from Tulane University, and a Master’s in Education from Marymount University.

AMS is responsible for administering the PACA and offers many PACA-related services to the produce industry.  PACA protects businesses dealing in fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables by establishing and enforcing a code of fair business practices and by helping companies resolve business disputes.  Working in partnership with the fruit and vegetable industry, PACA facilitates fair trade practices through education, mediation, arbitration, licensing and enforcement.  If you have a question or concern about PACA, call us at 800-495-7222. 

Please join me in welcoming Judy to USDA and to our PACA program!