Farm Bureau Urges Quick Vote on TPA

With about three weeks to go before the World Trade Organization tries to launch a new round of global trade talks, the American Farm Bureau Federation called on the House to approve quickly a bill to give the Bush administration trade promotion authority and a clearer path for trade pact negotiations.

"Granting trade promotion authority will send the signal to our trading partners that the United States is ready to assume a leadership role in these trade negotiations and has the backing of Congress to actively engage in the process," said AFBF President Bob Stallman in a letter to all House members.

Stallman cited the need for quick passage of H.R. 3005, the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2001. Stallman emphasized that, "for every day that Congress delays consideration of trade negotiating authority for the president, U.S. agricultural exports face trade-distorting domestic supports that are four times greater than U.S. supports, tariffs that are on average five times greater than our own, and export subsidies that are 40 times what our producers receive. The net result is that our share of the world market continues to erode while import competition continues to increase."

He stressed that unfair trade is an important reason to pass the bipartisan compromise. "We continue to face unfair trade practices both at home and abroad that must be corrected," Stallman said. "Nothing can be done to improve the trade outlook for U.S. farmers until Congress grants the president this authority."

Trade ministers are scheduled to meet Nov. 9-13 to finalize negotiations paving the way for the launch of a new global round of trade talks in the World Trade Organization. The negotiations on agriculture have already commenced in the WTO, but countries acknowledge that significant progress is not expected without the beginning of a broad-based trade round.

The House Ways and Means Committee approved TPA during the evening of October 9 by a vote of 26-13. The International Dairy Foods Association has said the bill faces "an uncertain future" when it reaches the floor.

"All segments of the dairy industry - farmers, processors, suppliers and manufacturers - gain from expanded trade opportunities for U.S. manufactured dairy products...But U.S. trade negotiators cannot make much more progress without a strong bipartisan mandate. H.R. 3005 provides that mandate," said IDFA Vice President and General Counsel Janet Nuzum.

The proposed legislation would restore the president's trade negotiating authority for a wide range of goods and services including agriculture, intellectual property, investment and electronic commerce. IDFA said many in the White House and in Congress feel that TPA complements the greater need for international cooperation and that increased trade is a key component for stabilizing the U.S. economy.