[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 28, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       U.S.-MEXICO POULTRY TRADE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD W. POMBO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2001

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the House's attention to 
one of the agricultural success stories of the last decade. I refer to 
this nation's poultry trade with Mexico, a trade that has benefited 
both nations tremendously and that today finds itself charting new 
paths for the future.
  Mexico in the late 1980s emerged as an important new market for U.S. 
poultry products. Mexican meat processors began buying large quantities 
of turkey and chicken cuts, including mechanically de-boned meat, from 
the United States. Much of this poultry meat was used to make the 
sausage, hot dogs, bologna and turkey ham products demanded by Mexican 
consumers.
  There was for a time a concern that NAFTA might slow this progress. 
The agreement was written in the infancy of the U.S.-Mexican poultry 
trade, and NAFTA's authors did not foresee the explosion in Mexican 
demand for U.S. poultry. The agreement set a quota for duty-free 
poultry exports to Mexico that was far too small and set the over-quota 
tariff at a staggering initial rate of 269 percent. In fact, that over-
quota tariff does not drop below 49.4 percent until it ultimately is 
removed in 2002.
  Fortunately, the fears raised by NAFTA were not realized. The Mexican 
government has recognized the demand for poultry and has allowed a much 
higher level of duty free poultry imports than NAFTA requires. The 
results of this policy have been spectacular--and the primary 
beneficiary has been the Mexican economy and the Mexican people.
  Mexico's processed meat industry has doubled during the last five 
years and now creates jobs--directly or indirectly--for 290,000 people. 
Annual sales of processed meat, including processed poultry products, 
have reached $1.3 billion annually and are climbing. The consumption of 
meat protein products in Mexico has increased significantly, and the 
cost to Mexican consumers has been kept low.
  Obviously, this has made the Mexican market a critical one for the 
U.S. poultry industry. Mexico now purchases about 10 percent of all 
U.S. poultry, and is the third largest export market for American 
poultry. For the turkey industry, the market is even more significant. 
Mexico is by far the biggest purchaser of U.S. turkey, consuming almost 
10 percent of all the turkey produced in the United States and 
accounting for 55 percent of all our turkey exports.
  Mr. Speaker, this success story needs to be continued. Mexico is 
undergoing historic political changes, and indications so far are that 
the Fox administration is continuing to maintain a positive policy 
toward poultry imports. However, there is certain to be continued 
pressure on the new government from some who want to eliminate 
competition in the market for processed meat.
  Mexico's meat processors cannot meet their consumers' needs or price 
expectations without continuing waivers on the NAFTA quotas for U.S. 
poultry products. The Mexican government has understood this for the 
last seven years, and they are to be commended for putting the broader 
needs of their nation's consumers and the entire economy ahead of 
parochial political considerations. Also, our Agriculture Department 
and the Office of the Trade Representative are to be congratulated for 
the time and attention they devote to ensuring fair and open trade 
between our two countries.
  The U.S. and Mexican poultry and meat processing industries recognize 
the importance of continuing this trade relationship. The two 
industries are signing an agreement pledging to work with their 
respective governments for a policy of open and unrestricted trade of 
poultry products.
  As we wait for that goal to become a reality, we want to express our 
appreciation for the hard work of the Mexican government and our own 
trade officials for the accomplishments to this point in promoting 
prosperous poultry trade between our two countries.

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