[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.
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