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June 24, 2003 The Honorable Charles E. Grassley United States Senate 135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington D.C. 20510 The Honorable Max Baucus United States Senate 511 Hart Senate Office Building Washington D.C. 20510 The Honorable Dave Camp United States House of Representatives 137 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Earl Pomeroy United States House of Representatives 1110 Longworth House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 Dear Member: Thank you for your leadership in introducing the "United States Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 2003." Your legislation will directly benefit America's farmers and ranchers, who depend on trade for a large part of their economic well being. This 1egislation should be a cornerstone in establishing agricultural trade priorities in our national agenda and should provide a much-needed tool for ensuring the removal of market access barriers to U.S. agricultural products in a timely manner. Our producers are the most efficient and productive in the world. However, with only four percent of the consuming population within the United States, we must have access to export markets for economic growth. Even with all our production efficiencies, we are dependent on government-to-government negotiations to eliminate trade barriers and open new markets. The legislation moves our trade negotiators in the right direction by requiring that they make agriculture, and enforcement of existing agreements, a priority in the nation's international trade relations agenda. Market barriers will be greatly reduced by the bill's requirement that the U.S. Trade Representative annually identify countries that deny market access to U.S. agricultural goods and that they initiate a Section 301 investigation against "priority foreign countries." We are particularly pleased that the bill provides the U.S. Trade Representative with the additional resources required to carry out the legislation's obligation. Your bill demonstrates to our government that we are serious about fair market access and puts our trading partners on notice that the U.S. Trade Representative will use the tools available to open markets and enforce agreements. Your bill and its focus on the importance of agriculture in the nation's trade agenda should be a major link to moving American agriculture into a position to achieve priority resolution of disputes with foreign trading partners. The U.S. agricultural industry associations represented below look forward to working with you on this important legislation. Sincerely, Agriculture Retailers Association American Farm Bureau Federation American Feed Industry Association American Meat Institute American Seed Trade Association American Soybean Association American Sugar Alliance Biotechnology Industry Organization Corn Refiners Association IMC Global National Association of Animal Breeders/Certified Semen Services National Corn Growers Association National Cotton Council National Dry Bean Council National Food Processors Association National Grain Sorghum Producers National Milk Producers Federation National Potato Council National Renderers Association The Washington Mint Growers Association U.S. Apple Association U.S. Dairy Export Council United Egg Association United Egg Producers Wheat Export Trade Education Committee |