[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 12 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 12

Expressing the sense of the Senate that meaningful reforms with respect 
  to agricultural subsidies must be achieved in the GATT negotiations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 21 (legislative day, January 5), 1993

 Mr. Pressler (for himself, Mr. Heflin, and Mr. Wallop) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was received, read twice and referred to 
                        the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate that meaningful reforms with respect 
  to agricultural subsidies must be achieved in the GATT negotiations.

Whereas in 1986, negotiations on an international agreement to reform the 
        General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (hereafter in this resolution 
        referred to as ``GATT'') began in Punta del Este, Uruguay, with a 
        targeted conclusion date of December 1990;
Whereas the United States and other major agricultural exporting nations 
        insisted from the start on significant reductions in the subsidy 
        programs operated by the European Community under its Common 
        Agricultural Policy;
Whereas in December 1990, after the European Community decided against reducing 
        the subsidy programs of its Common Agricultural Policy, no international 
        agricultural subsidy reduction agreement was reached;
Whereas in November 1991, the European Community indicated some willingness to 
        reduce its export subsidies during the GATT negotiations;
Whereas in November 1992, the European Community agreed to certain reductions in 
        its export subsidies;
Whereas American agriculture has a long tradition of supporting international 
        efforts to achieve more open markets and fairer rules governing world 
        agricultural trade;
Whereas the support of United States farmers and ranchers for multilateral and 
        other trade negotiations depends on the success of the Uruguay Round 
        GATT negotiations in achieving agricultural subsidy reductions in the 
        European Community; and
Whereas any agreement under the GATT that is not supported by American farmers 
        and ranchers would not be acceptable to the Congress: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that any agreement 
regarding proposed changes to the GATT must--
            (1) achieve the elimination or substantial reduction of 
        export subsidies as a means of disposing of agricultural 
        surpluses in the world market;
            (2) achieve new and expanded foreign market opportunities 
        for United States farm products;
            (3) ensure the European Community does not offset possible 
        reductions in its agricultural export subsidies by adopting 
        programs, such as variable levies or tariffs, which have the 
        effect of substantially limiting United States agricultural 
        exports to the European Community;
            (4) not limit the United States ability to exercise its 
        rights under the GATT to eliminate unfair trade barriers in the 
        future; and
            (5) achieve a sound agreement governing sanitary and 
        phytosanitary regulations.

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