[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        A COMMONSENSE APPROACH TO AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDY PROGRAMS

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 26, 1994

  Mr. ANDREWS of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing 
legislation which will save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of 
dollars, protect American jobs and establish a sorely needed rational 
and commonsense approach to our agricultural subsidy programs.
  As many of my colleagues are aware, we are in the midst of a 
controversy over the importation of Canadian Durum wheat. The reason we 
are buying Durum wheat from Canada is because we are paying our farmers 
Federal subsidies to export wheat that is needed by manufacturers here 
at home, forcing our United States manufacturers to purchase their 
supply of Durum wheat from Canada. This does not make sense, and its is 
costing our taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
  My legislation expresses a sense of Congress, asking the Secretary of 
Agriculture to refuse to subsidize with taxpayers' dollars the 
exportation of Durum wheat when the domestic supply of Durum wheat is 
insufficient to meet the domestic demand, and when access to foreign 
Durum wheat is not limited by any form of federally imposed trade 
restrictions.
  As you may know, there are proposals being discussed to raise the 
tariffs on Durum wheat imported into this country from Canada. The 
policy these proposals would force upon us would have a devastating 
impact on the pasta industry, which provides thousands of jobs 
throughout our country, a fact which the proponents of wheat import 
restrictions apparently are asking us to disregard.
  Durum wheat is the major ingredient in pasta, a product that is made 
in approximately 20 States throughout our country, including my own 
State of New Jersey--as well as other States such as New York, 
Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Minnesota, 
Washington, and Nebraska. In order to survive in the marketplace and 
compete with foreign imports our domestic pasta industry requires a 
ready supply of Durum wheat. In recent years, the industry has not been 
able to obtain a sufficient supply of quality domestic Durum for two 
reasons: First, our farmers are not growing enough Durum to meet 
domestic production needs; and second, the Federal Government has been 
using the taxpayers' money to encourage and to subsidize the export of 
millions of bushels of Durum to foreign countries.
  Now, in spite of this shortage and in spite of the fact that in this 
year alone taxpayers have subsidized the exportation of wheat to the 
tune of over $450 million, there is a sentiment in the wheat growing 
States that the Federal Government should impose trade restrictions on 
Canada. Imposing restrictions would either cut off the supply of Durum 
wheat to our American pasta manufacturers or make it so expensive that 
the same American consumers who are paying the export subsidies would 
have to pay more for their product here at home.
  Mr. Speaker, if these restrictions are imposed they will inflict a 
permanent and devastating hardship on the domestic pasta industry, 
because the restrictions will severely hamper its ability to compete 
with foreign pasta, which is being imported into this country in record 
quantities. Any trade restriction on Durum wheat without corresponding 
restrictions on foreign pasta will ultimately result in lost jobs, 
closed plants, the possible eventual exportation of an entire industry, 
and ironically, the ultimate loss of the American Durum wheat farmers' 
largest domestic customers--the American pasta manufacturers.
  In addition, if trade restrictions are imposed they will surely 
result in immediate retaliation by Canada on other American industries 
and commodities. It is no secret that Canada has prepared a list of 
products on which it may impose trade restrictions. This list 
reportedly includes rice, poultry, apples, baked goods, cereals, wine, 
fruit juice, and pasta.
  Mr. Speaker, imposing trade restrictions on Canadian Durum wheat 
would be bad policy in and of itself, but if there is a need to do so 
then I would ask at the very last that our wheat farmers quit sending 
the United States taxpayers a bill for hundreds of million of dollars 
in export subsidies as well. This policy does not only make any sense 
whatsoever; it is unfair to the taxpayers.
  Why, during thee times of tight budgets and billion-dollar deficits, 
should our taxpayers be asked to pay export subsidies to Durum wheat 
farmers who could otherwise sell their crops to manufacturers right 
here in this country--when we cannot afford to build and maintain 
schools, put enough policemen on our streets, and provide many of our 
citizens with jobs and housing?
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that efforts to impose restrictions on Durum 
wheat will be resisted by the President. This issue was recently 
considered and rejected by our Ways and Means Committee in connection 
with the GATT authorizing legislation. However, the other body is still 
considering the imposition of some type of restrictions on Canadian 
Durum in the near future. I intend vigorously to pursue this 
legislation and any other measures to eliminate subsidy payments for 
Durum wheat under the Export Enhancement Program.
  At this point, I would like to insert for the Record data from a 
report published last month by the General Accounting Office entitled 
``Wheat Support--The Impact of Target Prices Versus Export Subsidies.'' 
These data show that during the past 10 years U.S. taxpayers have paid 
a total of more than $4.8 billion in wheat export subsidies. The choice 
is clear: We either stop subsidizing domestic wheat farmers or reject 
proposals to place import restriction on Durum wheat.

    [From the United States Government Accounting Office, June 1994]

   Wheat Support--The Impact of Target Prices Versus Export Subsidies

                                                                                         APPENDIX IV--EEP WHEAT BONUSES AND COUNTRY DESTINATIONS                                                                                        
                                                                                                     [1985 Through March 17, 1994]                                                                                                      
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                     Country                             1985            1986            1987            1988            1989            1990            1991            1992            1993             1994               Total      
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Soviet Union/FSU..................................              $0              $0    $166,095,381    $281,798,920     $96,706.751     $75,822,425    $143,206,785    $349,596,280    $114,251,636        $32,918,316     $1,260,396,493
China.............................................               0               0      63,506,409     177,569,861     109,974,489      49,124,924     244,410,712      90,538,934     119,194,832         53,472,250        907,792,411
Egypt.............................................      10,920,275      23,881,846      52,566,539      51,612,030      25,079,721      18,891,877      82,696,974     180,091,945      78,751,866         84,148,095        608,641,168
Algeria...........................................               0      34,025,157      60,716,371      61,251,808      17,462,821      35,663,944      91,738,704      47,184,072      39,470,961         53,871,930        441,385,768
Morocco...........................................               0      22,938,732      68,106,688      41,047,134       9,698,911       5,934,169      18,542,543      17,732,285      77,930,238         19,971,328        281,902,027
The Phillippines..................................               0       3,325,456       6,438,199      17,340,133       4,310,306       6,452,021      54,990,972      33,027,670      39,672,735         49,748,560        215,306,052
Poland............................................               0               0      37,375,910      41,859,812         142,602               0               0       3,477,000      10,676,915                  0         93,532,239
Tunisia...........................................               0      12,878,354       1,844,619      17,410,984               0       7,686,821      15,217,040       6,235,520      19,464,340         12,435,097         93,172,777
India.............................................               0               0               0      42,559,046               0               0               0               0      32,868,976                  0         75,428,022
Sub-Saharan Africa................................               0               0               0               0               0               0      14,970,195       7,159,366      84,154,317         44,422,522        150,706,399
The Republic of Yemen.............................               0       1,048,898       3,242,874       4,021,371         372,966       3,392,608      21,228,141       4,410,490      33,128,637          7,283,338         78,129,322
Sri Lanka.........................................               0       1,779,580       5,725,662       6,279,782       3,090,840       6,832,691       6,787,722      15,331,320      12,141,940         13,913,000         71,882,536
Jordan............................................               0       4,016,732       8,558,924         758,417       2,237,979       7,378,819      18,635,183       1,284,048      14,520,603         13,872,882         71,263,587
Iraq..............................................               0               0      17,203,295      21,201,530       4,848,574       7,017,470               0               0               0                  0         50,297,870
Pakistan..........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0      22,002,266      21,673,180         21,176,250         64,851,696
Bangladash........................................               0               0       8,825,420       3,638,882       5,471,262               0       1,422,900      13,892,344       4,715,250          3,581,200         41,547,259
Mexico............................................               0               0               0      25,713,777       4,367,740       2,216,718               0               0       4,261,032         14,970,215         51,529,482
Colombia..........................................               0               0               0       8,630,019       2,049,879       2,242,558      15,689,692               0               0                  0         28,612,148
Turkey............................................               0      13,259,845       9,932,702               0         522,703       1,284,068               0               0       3,784,178          4,094,418         32,877,914
West & Central African countries..................               0               0       4,310,502       6,307,165       1,271,628      10,472,331       5,023,776               0               0                  0         27,385,402
Brazil............................................               0               0       1,601,490               0               0               0      20,135,852         873,250       3,667,607                  0         26,278,199
Yugoslavia........................................               0       7,278,721      17,486,052               0         119,070         314,437               0               0               0                  0         25,198,280
South Africa......................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0      19,999,277          3,677,400         23,676,677
Venezuela.........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       8,949,044       3,187,751                  0         12,136,795
Zaire.............................................               0       2,042,126       3,025,190       1,802,251         737,899       1,123,901       2,198,564               0               0                  0         10,929,931
Trinidad and Tobago...............................               0               0               0               0               0               0       4,520,394       3,520,890       2,212,550          2,957,355         13,211,188
Norway............................................               0               0               0               0               0               0       2,481,088       2,596,867       7,031,758          1,075,390         13,185,102
Romania...........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       7,745,086                  0          7,745,086
Bulgaria..........................................               0               0               0       5,652,590               0               0               0               0               0                  0          5,652,590
Senegal...........................................               0               0       4,648,294               0               0               0               0               0               0                  0          4,648,294
Lebanon...........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       8,505,790          5,687,105         14,192,904
Finland...........................................               0               0               0       2,713,151         321,724          30,130         937,679               0         279,100            526,350          4,808,134
Slovenia..........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       4,482,486          1,750,344          6,232,830
East European Countries...........................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       2,969,650         579,600                  0          3,549,250
Malta.............................................               0               0               0               0               0               0       1,794,898         348,600       1,346,440            336,240          3,826,178
Kuwait............................................               0               0               0               0               0               0       1,072,372         917,000       1,295,405                  0          3,284,777
Cyprus............................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       1,066,360       2,529,424          2,138,271          5,734,055
Benin.............................................               0         446,089         363,963               0               0               0               0               0               0                  0            810,052
The Canary Islands................................               0               0               0         365,805         141,102               0               0               0               0                  0            506,907
Bahrain and Kuwait................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0       1,301,850          1,929,570          3,231,420
Nicaragua.........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0          1,634,979          1,634,979
Honduras..........................................               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0               0          1,295,951          1,295,951
Wheat EEP total...................................      10,920,275     126,921,536     541,601,483     819,534,468     288,928,967     241,881,914     767,702,185     813,205,199     774,825,767        452,888,356      4,838,410,152
EEP total.........................................      22,476,943     256,250,081     927,758,652   1,013,655,284     338,765,018     311,750,732     916,599,231     968,198,566     967,277,923        597,678,912      6,320,411,342
Percentage of EEP for wheat.......................            48.6            49.5            58.4            80.8            85.3            77.6            83.8            84.0            80.1               75.8              76.6 
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Note: Years are in fiscal years.                                                                                                                                                                                                        



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