[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9985-S9986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE NOMINATION OF PETER SCHER TO BE SPECIAL TRADE AMBASSADOR FOR 
                              AGRICULTURE

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I want to make a few brief 
comments regarding the nomination of Mr. Peter Scher to be the Special 
Trade Ambassador for Agriculture which this Senate is considering 
today. I am pleased to report that the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee, on which I serve, considered the nomination of Mr. Scher and 
favorably reported his nomination yesterday.
  I met with Mr. Scher following his confirmation hearing before the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss with him the problems 
Wisconsin's agricultural sector has had with our existing trade 
agreements such as the Uruguay Round of GATT and the North American 
Free Trade Agreement. I urged Mr. Scher, in his new position, to work 
diligently to ensure that our trading partners are complying with their 
agricultural trade obligations established by these agreements.
  Specifically, I asked Mr. Scher and the USTR to accept a section 301 
petition filed by the dairy industry asking USTR to challenge the 
Canadian export pricing scheme before the World Trade Organization. 
Canada's dairy export subsidies violate the export subsidy reduction 
commitments under the Uruguay Round. These subsidies disadvantage the 
United States dairy industry in its efforts to compete in world 
markets. I also pointed out that Canada also has effectively prohibited 
our dairy industry from exporting

[[Page S9986]]

products to lucrative Canadian markets. Not only must USTR aggressively 
pursue WTO dispute settlement proceedings against Canadian export 
subsidies, but it must also seek greater access for United States dairy 
products to Canadian markets, among others, in any upcoming trade 
negotiations.
  I also raised with Mr. Scher the problems the United States potato 
industry has had with respect to access to both Canadian and Mexican 
markets. I urged him to pursue negotiations with the Canadians to allow 
greater access of United States potatoes to their domestic markets and 
to aggressively seek accelerated reduction in Mexican tariffs for 
United States potatoes, a commitment made to potato growers when NAFTA 
was approved. Mr. Scher assured me that potatoes would be among the 
commodities to be considered in upcoming negotiations with Mexico.
  I believe Mr. Scher has a fundamental understanding of both the 
importance of trade to agriculture generally and of the complex trade 
problems the U.S. dairy industry faces regarding compliance with 
existing trade agreements. For that reason, I support the approval of 
his nomination. But I expect USTR, with Mr. Scher acting as Ambassador, 
to aggressively pursue the resolution of the critical issues facing our 
domestic dairy and potato sectors. I will continue to work with USTR to 
resolve these issues and will hold Mr. Scher to his commitment that 
USTR will use all existing tools to ensure compliance with existing 
trade agreements and to pursue greater access for agriculture to 
international markets.
  I continue to have serious reservations about United States efforts 
to begin new trade negotiations until the problems with our current 
bilateral and multilateral agreements are successfully resolved. 
Wisconsin is home to 24,000 dairy farmers, 140 cheese processing plants 
and many other businesses associated with milk production and 
processing. Dairy contributes some $4 billion in income to Wisconsin's 
economy and provides 130,000 jobs. Wisconsin is also the fifth largest 
potato producing State with a large chip and french fry processing 
sector. Overall, Wisconsin ranks 10th in the Nation in farm numbers and 
9th nationally with respect to market value of agricultural products 
sold.
  Wisconsin's farmers and food processing industry could greatly 
benefit by gaining a greater share of international markets. However, 
for that to happen, our trade agreements must not only be fair, they 
must be enforceable. To date, our trade agreements have not only failed 
to provide significant benefits for many agricultural sectors, 
including dairy, they have placed some sectors at a distinct 
disadvantage. I will look at all future trade agreement proposals with 
an eye to these issues and make decisions on those proposals based, in 
part, on how they treat Wisconsin farmers.

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