[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2328 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2328
To establish the negotiating objectives of the United States with
respect to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, to establish criteria for
the accession of state trading regimes to the WTO, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 17, 1998
Mr. Brownback (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the negotiating objectives of the United States with
respect to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, to establish criteria for
the accession of state trading regimes to the WTO, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Agriculture Export Enhancement Act
of 1998''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agreement on agriculture.--The term ``Agreement on
Agriculture'' means the Agreement described in section
101(d)(2) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
(2) Agreement on the application of sanitary; and
phytosanitary measures.--The term ``Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures'' means the
Agreement described in section 101(d)(3) of the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act.
(3) Uruguay Round Agreements.-- The term ``Uruguay Round
Agreements'' has the meaning given such term in section 2(7) of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501(7).
(4) World trade organization.--The term ``World Trade
Organization'' means the organization established pursuant to
the WTO Agreement.
(5) WTO agreement.--The term ``WTO Agreement'' means the
Agreement Establishing The World Trade Organization entered
into on April 15, 1994.
(6) WTO and wto member.--The terms ``WTO'' and ``WTO
member'' have the meanings given those terms in section 2 of
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3501).
SEC. 3. PRINCIPAL AGRICULTURAL TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.
The principle agricultural trade negotiating objectives of the
United States with respect to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture shall
include the following:
(1) Elimination of tariffs on agricultural products.--The
United States shall negotiate a specific date after which
tariffs imposed on agricultural products shall be eliminated by
WTO members and the United States shall negotiate the immediate
elimination or substantial reduction of the tariffs imposed on
the following products by certain WTO members:
(A) Tariffs imposed on meat products by Japan.
(B) Tariffs imposed on meat products by South
Korea.
(C) Tariffs imposed on grains, livestock, and meat
products by the Philippines.
(D) Tariffs imposed on wheat by South Africa.
(E) Tariffs imposed on milling wheat, corn, and
sorghum by Turkey.
(2) Elimination of export and other trade-distorting
subsidies.--The United States shall negotiate a specific date
after which all export and other trade-distorting subsidies
shall be eliminated by WTO members and the United States shall
negotiate the elimination of the following subsidies provided
by the certain WTO members:
(A) Export subsidies on wheat, wheat flour, beef,
and poultry provided by the European Union.
(B) Domestic subsidies on pork and feed grains
provided by the European Union.
(3) Elimination of the unfair or trade-distorting
activities of state trading enterprises.--
(A) In general.--The United States shall negotiate
the elimination of the exclusive right of state trading
enterprises to import agricultural products in the case
of members of the WTO and shall negotiate the
elimination of the ability of state trading enterprises
to use their exclusive authority over the export of
agricultural products to distort trade and
international prices.
(B) Specific reforms.--The United States shall
negotiate the following specific reforms with respect
to the activities of state trading enterprises:
(i) Ensure that Australia adheres to its
commitment to end the export monopoly of the
Australia Wheat Board no later than January 1,
1999.
(ii) Ensure that Canada eliminates the
discretionary pricing practices of the Canadian
Wheat Board.
(4) Elimination of unjustified sanitary and phytosanitary
restrictions on imports of united states agricultural
products.--The United States shall negotiate the elimination of
the following sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on
imports of United States agricultural products to the extent
that the restrictions are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement
on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures:
(A) Australia's quarantine and health restrictions
on imports of livestock and poultry.
(B) Australia's prohibition on poultry imports in
the absence of WTO-required risk assessments.
(C) Australia's ban on cooked pork.
(D) Australia's requirement that most feed grains
be steam-treated or processed in an alternative
satisfactory manner at the port of entry.
(E) Chile's refusal to permit United States beef in
consumer cuts to enter the market without being graded
to Chilean standards.
(F) Egypt's refusal to adhere to the standard
international practice of allowing producers to
determine the shelf life of their product.
(G) The European Union's failure to require
labeling only for health or safety reasons.
(H) The failure of the European Union's Specified
Risk Material regulations to recognize regional disease
differences in animal disease status and to account for
available scientific information and advice relating to
the control of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and
other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in
products of animal origin.
(I) The failure of the European Union to implement
the requirements of the WTO with respect to the
European Union's ban on growth promoting hormones in
meat production.
(J) The European Union's lengthy and unpredictable
approval process for agricultural products that contain
genetically modified organisms.
(K) Greece's ban on the import of United States
wheat.
(L) India's sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions
on imports of United States wheat.
(M) Israel's ban on imports of non-kosher meat and
meat products.
(N) South Korea's excessive labeling requirements.
(O) South Korea's failure to base its standards and
testing procedures on scientific risk assessment.
(P) Poland's zero tolerance policy on weed seeds.
(Q) Turkey's ban on cattle and beef imports.
SEC. 4. ACCESSION OF COUNTRIES WITH STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES TO
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE AND WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION.
Section 1106 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988
(19 U.S.C. 2905) is amended--
(1) by striking ``major foreign country'' each place it
appears and inserting ``foreign country'';
(2) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (1) to read as
follows:
``(1) whether state trading enterprises produce or procure
a significant share of--
``(A) the goods exported from such foreign country;
``(B) the goods imported into such foreign country;
or
``(C) the goods produced domestically in such
foreign country; and''; and
(3) in subsection (b)(2)(A)--
(A) by amending clause (i) to read as follows:
``(i) will make purchases and sales in
international trade based solely on commercial
considerations (including price, quality,
availability, marketability, and
transportation), and''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ``, in accordance
with customary practice,''.
SEC. 5. ACCESSION OF CHINA TO THE WTO.
The United States shall not agree to the accession of the People's
Republic of China to the WTO until the President certifies to Congress
the following:
(1) The People's Republic of China evenly applies
phytosanitary and veterinary import quarantine standards that
are based upon modern laboratory techniques.
(2) The People's Republic of China agrees to eliminate the
restrictive import licensing requirements it imposes on pork
products.
(3) The People's Republic of China agrees to permit the
unrestricted importation of meat products.
SEC. 6. THE ACCESSION OF RUSSIA TO THE WTO.
The United States shall not agree to the accession of Russia to the
WTO until the President certifies to Congress the following:
(1) Russia agrees to change the Russian Veterinary
Department requirements in a manner that brings the
requirements into conformity with the WTO's Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. In
particular the requirements must be more transparent and based
on sound science.
(2) Russia agrees to change other sanitary and
phytosanitary requirements that violate the WTO Agreement on
the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures,
especially the requirements governing the import of planting
seeds and meat products.
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