[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8159-S8160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REGARDING MEXICO'S IMPOSITION OF ANTIDUMPING DUTIES ON UNITED STATES 
                        HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

  Mr. HELMS. Now, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Concurrent 
Resolution 43 submitted earlier today by Senators Grassley, Lugar, and 
Harkin.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 43) urging the United 
     States Trade Representative immediately to take all 
     appropriate action with regard to Mexico's imposition of 
     antidumping duties on United States high fructose corn syrup.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I am offering this resolution with 
my distinguished colleagues, the chairman and ranking member of the 
Senate Agriculture Committee, Senators Lugar and Harkin. The resolution 
addresses an antidumping investigation being conducted by the 
Government of Mexico, on the import of high-fructose syrup [HFCS] from 
the United States.
  Mr. President, I have often come to the Senate floor to discuss the 
importance of international trade to our agricultural economy. American 
farmers have become more reliant on global markets for their income. 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 31 percent of 
farmers' income will be derived from foreign markets by the end of the 
decade.
  Because American farmers are the most efficient in the world we 
should not be frightened by this trend. But we must be more vigilant 
than ever when it comes to eliminating foreign trade barriers.
  Both the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA] and the Uruguay 
Round Agreement of GATT were successful for American farmers. They 
served to reduce or eliminate barriers to trade in agriculture products 
to a greater extent than any prior trade agreement. The implementation 
and enforcement of these agreements will be crucial to American 
farmers.
  That is why the recent actions of the Mexican Government are so 
disturbing. The Mexican Government has imposed unreasonably high, 
preliminary tariffs on imports of HFCS from the United States. These 
tariffs are far in excess of what was negotiated under NAFTA. The 
justification for these tariffs is the antidumping action filed by the 
Mexican sugar industry.
  I and my colleagues are very concerned with the propriety of this 
action. There have been questions raised as to whether the action meets 
the standards set forth in the World Trade Organization Agreement on 
Antidumping. I will submit for the Record a letter from the Deputy U.S. 
Trade Representative, Ambassador Jeff Lang, that outlines these serious 
concerns.
  The resolution we introduced today is very simple. It says that if 
the antidumping action has not been conducted in accordance with WTO 
requirements, it should be terminated immediately. And all tariffs that 
have been imposed as a result of the action should be removed 
immediately.
  If the Mexican Government refuses to do this, the United States Trade 
Representative is directed to request consultations with the Mexican 
Government, under the dispute settlement provisions of the WTO. This 
action will trigger a resolution of this dispute according to WTO 
procedures.
  Finally, if the Mexican Government fails to accept our request for 
consultations, Congress directs the USTR to take any and all applicable 
actions under United States trade law.
  Mr. President, I am a firm believer in free and open trade. It is 
never productive to engage in a trade war with one of our largest and 
most loyal trading partners. And that is certainly not the intent of 
this resolution.
  However in order to have fair trade, we must insist that our trading 
partners live up to the obligations set forth in our trade agreements. 
This is vital to facilitating the free trade that will raise the 
standard of living for workers and consumers worldwide.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the letter I referred to 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                            Executive Office of the President,

                                     Washington, DC, June 4, 1997.
     Alvaro Baillet,
     Jefe De La Unidad, Secretaria de Comercio y Fomento 
         Industrial, Av. Insurgentes Sur 1940 PISO II, Col. 
         Florida, C.P. 01030 Mexico, D.F.
       Dear Mr. Baillet: The United States has recently been 
     contacted by American producers of High Fructose Corn Syrup 
     (HFCS) regarding the initiation of an antidumping 
     investigation concerning their exports of HFCS to Mexico. Our 
     producers are concerned that the applicable like product in 
     the investigation is HFCS, that the investigation was 
     initiated without the support of the Mexican producers of 
     that like product, and that certain information about the 
     Mexican producers of HFCS known to the Mexican authorities 
     was not considered in the initiation notice.
       We have reviewed information that indicates that HFCS was 
     produced in Mexico during the 1996 period of investigation. 
     We further understand that this information was available to 
     SECOFI and the Mexican sugar chamber that submitted the 
     application for this antidumping investigation prior to 
     SECOFI's initiation of the investigation. The domestic 
     producers of the like product on whose behalf the antidumping 
     application was filed consequently would normally have 
     included any such Mexican producers of HFCS. SECOFI's 
     initiation notice, however, does not reference these 
     producers. It merely states, without support, that HFCS is 
     not produced in Mexico.
       An investigation into allegations of dumping can be 
     extremely time consuming, expensive and have commercial 
     consequences even before a preliminary or definitive measure 
     is in place. For this reason, and because the Antidumping 
     Agreement is explicit about the need for the authorities to 
     examine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in 
     the application, including that pertinent to the industry 
     support needed for initiation, we would appreciate your 
     attention to this matter in time to minimize any unnecessary 
     impediment to U.S. exports of HFCS.
           Sincerely Yours,
                                                     Jeffrey Lang,
                        Deputy United States Trade Representative.

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, in my home State of Indiana, corn refining 
adds substantially to the value of our corn crop. On average, Indiana 
produces 800 million bushels of corn annually. It is estimated that 
corn refining--primarily through the production of high-fructose corn 
syrup--adds about $200 million to the value of Indiana's corn crop. In 
addition to enhancing the value of our corn crop, corn refining results 
in the direct employment of approximately 1,700 Hoosiers with an 
estimated payroll of over $70 million.
  It is for the above reasons that I join Senators Grassley, Harkin, 
Daschle,

[[Page S8160]]

and Kerrey in introducing a concurrent resolution instructing the 
United States Trade Representative to take the appropriate actions in 
regards to a preliminary imposition of antidumping duties against 
United States exports of high-fructose corn syrup to Mexico. These 
duties were imposed on June 25 in response to a petition brought to the 
Mexican Government by the sugar producers' organization in Mexico.
  Prior to our adoption of the North American Free-Trade Agreement 
[NAFTA], duties on high-fructose corn syrup were 15 percent. This year, 
under our negotiated agreements, with should have dropped to 9.5 
percent. The preliminary antidumping finding has disrupted the planned 
program for the duty reduction on this important agricultural product. 
Duties now in effect because of this decision are as much as four to 
five times the pre-NAFTA levels.
  Mr. President, this case involves important matters of international 
trade policy and the interests of U.S. agricultural producers. The 
preliminary finding of the Mexican Government appears to be in 
violation of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Antidumping. 
This agreement requires that governments fully investigate allegations 
brought by private parties before opening government investigations. In 
this case, Mexico's sugar industry stated that there was no production 
of high-fructose corn syrup in Mexico. This is inaccurate which means 
the Mexican sugar industry did not have standing under WTO rules to 
file this case.
  Three years ago this chamber helped take a major step toward creating 
a growing free-trade area in the Western Hemisphere. Passage of NAFTA 
was not an easy matter, as you will recall. However, those of us from 
agricultural areas--with strong support from the U.S. corn industry--
worked hard to achieve its passage.
  With the passage of last years FAIR Act, we reduced price and income 
support for U.S. corn farmers. Increasing exports is the only 
alternative for U.S. farmers to maintain a stable level of farm income. 
One of the best ways to continue agricultures export performance is to 
ensure that unwarranted and unfair trade barriers are not erected. I 
hope you will join me in supporting this resolution.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid on the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution 
appear at this point in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair.
  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 43) follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 43

       Whereas the North American Free Trade Agreement (in this 
     resolution, referred to as ``the NAFTA'') was intended to 
     reduce trade barriers between Canada, Mexico and the United 
     States;
       Whereas the NAFTA represented an opportunity for corn 
     farmers and refiners to increase exports of highly 
     competitive United States corn and corn products;
       Whereas corn is the number one U.S. cash crop with a value 
     of $25,000,000,000;
       Whereas U.S. corn refiners are highly efficient, provide 
     over 10,000 non-farm jobs, and add over $2,000,000 of value 
     to the U.S. corn crop;
       Whereas the Government of Mexico has initiated an 
     antidumping investigation into imports of high fructose corn 
     syrup from the United States which may violate the 
     antidumping standards of the World Trade Organization;
       Whereas on June 25, 1997, the Government of Mexico 
     published a Preliminary Determination imposing very high 
     antidumping duties on imports of United States high fructose 
     corn syrup;
       Whereas there has been concern that Mexico's initiation of 
     the antidumping investigation was motivated by political 
     pressure from the Mexican sugar industry rather than the 
     merits of Mexico's antidumping law: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the Government of Mexico should review carefully 
     whether it properly initiated this antidumping investigation 
     in conformity with the standards set forth in the World Trade 
     Organization Agreement on Antidumping, and should terminate 
     this investigation immediately;
       (2) if the United States Trade Representative considers 
     that Mexico initiated this antidumping investigation in 
     violation of World Trade Organization standards, and if the 
     Government of Mexico does not terminate the antidumping 
     investigation, then the United States Trade Representative 
     should immediately undertake appropriate measures, including 
     actions pursuant to the dispute settlement provisions of the 
     World Trade Organization.

                          ____________________