Meeting Date:
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
CFTC Staff:
Vincent McGonagle
Aaron Brodsky
Steven Haidar
Jeanette Curtis
Lillian Cardona
Steven Benton
Harold Hild
Rachel Hayes
Swati Shah
Scott Mixon
Stephen Kane
Dorothy DeWitt
Rachel Reicher
Organization(s):
Better Markets
External Attendees:
Mike Masters (Better Markets)
Dennis Kelleher (Better Markets)
Joseph Cisewski (Better Markets)
Additional Information:
i. The federal spot-month limits for derivatives on the 25 physical commodities subject to the most critical elements of the proposal would generally represent significant increases in permissible speculation; ii. The proposal would not establish federal position limits for non-spot-month derivatives contracts on 16 of the 24 physical commodities subject to the most critical elements of the proposal; iii. The proposal would dramatically expand (almost triple) the number of self-effectuating enumerated exemptions and for the first time recognize a broad exemption (read, loophole) for anticipatory merchandising; iv. The proposal would implement a new process for recognizing non-enumerated hedging strategies that practically eliminates CFTC oversight; v. The proposal would raise unnecessary administrative hurdles and open avenues for legal challenges to meaningful position limits by interpreting ambiguities in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to require a “necessity” finding before the CFTC could finalize federal position limits.
