September 15, 2000

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) and the ranking Democrat, Rep. Charles Stenholm (TX), want President Clinton to brief the entire committee on why the administration has not implemented the law requiring a "carousel" rotation of duties on European Union products in retaliation for EU trade actions.

Congress called for a new retaliatory list by June 19, but so far the administration has not replied. Combest and Stenholm called for "quick and decisive implementation as an essential tool to ensure European compliance with recent trade rulings favoring the United States."

The EU continues to block the entry of American beef and ignores rulings against trade restrictions hurting U.S. banana companies.

Combest and Stenholm told Clinton in July that the act "demonstrates U.S. resolve to maintain a credible WTO enforcement mechanism that brings down unfair barriers to U.S. exports. U.S. farmers, ranchers and other workers deserve full access to foreign markets and vigorous enforcement of U.S. trade laws,"

In their Sept. 7 letter asking that Clinton appear before the committee, they said, "We believe quick and decisive implementation of the provision is the best way to encourage European compliance with recent WTO decisions on beef and bananas."

Carousel provisions allow the United States a rotating option of sanctions that apply maximum economic pressure on trading partners from within their own countries with trade restrictions on products headed to U.S. shores. Every six months, at each turn of the "carousel," nations that refuse to abide by dispute rulings will have a different business and production sector of their economy subjected to higher tariffs against their goods.