Inside US Trade | Vol. 19, No. 23
More then one hundred groups representing specialty crop producers and other segments of the agriculture industry have urged President Bush to keep U.S. trade remedy laws off the table in future negotiations. In a June 6 letter, these groups and companies warned that the U.S. must resist efforts by trading partners to weaken these laws, which they charged would begin at the next ministerial of the World Trade Organization.
"Weakening of these laws will inevitably lead to abuse of the world's most open market and would cause irreparable harm to U.S. agriculture and food interests," the letter said. "Our message to you is quite simple: 'Do not use trade remedy laws as a bargaining chip in the upcoming trade negotiations.'"
The letter points out that many of the signatories have benefited from U.S. trade laws such as antidumping, countervailing duty, section 201 and section 301. It was signed by 103 groups, including a number of California and Florida associations. Some of these groups worked to generate support for the letter by 63 senators warning Bush against weakening U.S. trade laws (Inside U.S. Trade, May 18, p. 9).
U.S. crops like sugar, peanuts and orange juice would face increasing competition in the Free Trade Area of the Americas, according to a 1998 USDA report. That report found that the FTAA would bring little change for rice, meat and dairy and gains for wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton, House Agriculture Committee chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) said in a May 23 hearing on the FTAA.
The report is being updated for release in the fall, according to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.
During the hearing a number of committee members pointed out how Latin American countries are major competitors for beef and soybeans while Brazil is a major sugar producer, with the potential to disrupt the U.S. market.
However, none of the cabinet members testifying said the U.S. would not open its market further, only that there could be longer phaseout periods on barriers for sensitive crops as was done in the North American Free Trade Agreement.
But U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said the U.S. would not negotiate its domestic subsidies in an FTAA, holding them off until a comprehensive WTO round.
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