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U.S.
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE RESPONDS TO NATIONAL GRANGE
Washington,
April 13, 2004 - More than 25 agriculture-related organizations have formed
a coalition to express their concerns to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
In a January 28, 2004 letter, the coalition explained their concerns that the
European Union (EU) Commission has not detailed its enlarged agricultural policies
or engaged in conversations with the United States on how to avoid harm to U.S.
trading interests prior to the scheduled accession of ten Central and Eastern
European countries. "U.S.
agriculture has a strong interest in a fair and orderly enlargement process,"
National Grange President William Steel said. "Delayed EU disclosure of the new
enlargement policies will make it difficult, if not impossible, for the U.S. to
address and resolve access or non-compliance concerns prior to the date of accession.
Once accession takes place and injury to U.S. interest occurs, that injury may
be irreparable."
Members of the coalition expressed the following concerns: -
The EU's illegal ban on U.S. beef and unnecessarily restrictive meat inspection
regulations will be extended to the new members, compounding current levels of
injury.
- Restrictive
EU biotechnology policies and other technical barriers may be extended with harmful
commercial consequences.
-
Certain US/EU bilateral agreements run a high risk of being violated, which would
again put the EU into non-compliance in important WTO cases.
-
An extension of the Common Agriculture Policy to certain sectors - dairy, cereals,
sugar, fresh and processed horticulture and planting seeds - could greatly compound
access distortions.
-
The EU's WTO-bound commitments on oilseeds, oilseed products and non-grain feed
ingredients risk not being extended to entering countries.
-
The EU's ban on U.S. poultry due to the antimicrobial use of chlorinated water
during processing will be extended to new member countries, expanding the harmful
impact of that ban.
-
Certain fruits and vegetables could lose overall access, as could U.S. agricultural
products covered by the Tariff Rate Quotas, such as rice.
The
Honorable Robert Zoellick responded to the National Grange and others members
of the coalition by expressing his shared concern for the coalition's issues.
He also outlined steps that his office is taking to make sure the enlargement
process is fair and orderly. "I
have repeatedly stressed to EU Commissioner Pascal Lamy that the timely disclosure
of information about how various enlargement-related policies will be implemented
in the new member states is imperative to avoid enlargement being unnecessarily
disruptive and damaging to U.S. interests," Zoellick said. "We are also actively
working with the EU to restart U.S. poultry meat exports and to conclude a bilateral
wine agreement." Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia,
Slovakia are scheduled to become EU member states on May 1, 2004, following approval
by current EU member states and those candidate countries. The
other agriculture-related organizations that signed off on the letter included:
American Farm Bureau Federation, American Feed Industry Association, American
Frozen Food Institute, American Meat Institute, American Soybean Association,
Animal Health Institute, Apricot Producers of California, Biotechnology Industry
Organization, Blue Diamond Growers, California Canning Peach Association, California
Cling Peach Board, Chiquita Brands International, Corn Refiners Association, Grocery
Manufacturers of America, National Association of Animal Breeders, National Association
of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, National Grain Sorghum Producers,
National Milk Producers Federation, National Oilseed Processors Association, Northwest
Horticulture Council, U.S. Apple Association, U.S. Dairy Export Council, U.S.
Grains Council, U.S. Meat Export Federation, USA Rice Federation and Wheat Export
Trade Education Committee. To
view the complete letter for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, click
here. |
