[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 10 (Wednesday, February 11, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                AGRICULTURE EXPORTS AND TRADE AGREEMENT

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                          HON. THOMAS W. EWING

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 1998

  Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a concurrent 
resolution regarding trade between the U.S. and the European Union. 
Recent news reports indicate that the Administration may be considering 
concluding a trade agreement with the EU that would not include 
agriculture. Given the difficulties that American agricultural exports 
face in gaining access to the EU market, it is unthinkable that any 
cross-sector agreement with the EU would exclude agriculture. This 
resolution calls on the Administration to actively pursue eliminating 
tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed by the EU on U.S. agricultural 
exports. This resolution also cautions the Administration against 
engaging in trade negotiations that might undermine the ability of the 
United States to have a level playing field for American producers.
  American agriculture is more than twice as reliant on exports as the 
overall economy, and thus the American farmer is hurt the most by 
unfair barriers to market access. This is especially true with the 
European Union, where barriers to U.S. agriculture products remains the 
most vexing problem in our commercial relationship. The EU has shown 
relatively little progress in liberalizing trade in agriculture between 
our two markets. The EU has failed to comply with a WTO ruling which 
overturned an EU ban on hormone-treated beef from the U.S. The EU has 
failed to implement the bilateral agreement on veterinary equivalence 
standards and EU subsidies continue to distort market prices. U.S. 
farmers are the most efficient and productive in the world and they 
deserve our every effort to pry open foreign markets and tear down 
unfair barriers to market access.
  Mr. Speaker, if U.S. agriculture exports are to continue growing at 
the present rate, the U.S. government needs to be more aggressive in 
eliminating barriers to trade around the world. I urge my colleagues to 
cosponsor this resolution.

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