Excerpts: Agriculture Secretary Glickman Feb. 28 on China/WTO
(Touts permanent Normal Trade Relations status for China)On the same day President Clinton and United States Trade Representative (USTR) Charlene Barshefsky were trying to convince the nation's governors of the potential benefits of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman told the nation's farmers getting China into the WTO and granting that country permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) status could mean an additional $5 billion in annual income for American farmers by the year 2005.
Glickman addressed the National Farmers Union 98th Anniversary Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah February 28 on a variety of issues of concern to the nation's farmers, including the benefits to be gained should the U.S. Congress vote to grant China permanent NTR status.
While China has the world's largest population and a rapidly growing economy, Glickman told his audience, "last fiscal year, every man, woman and child in China consumed less than one dollar's worth of American agricultural goods. In one year less than a dollar a person."
"We can't afford such limited access to a market this large and this fertile," he stressed.
The U.S. Agriculture Secretary warned the farmers that if the United States denied China permanent NTR status, the opportunities from China's open markets would go to others.
"If we don't go down this road, then other nations will," he said.
"It's a dog-eat-dog global marketplace out there," Glickman said. "If we unilaterally choose not to take advantage of new overseas opportunities, our friends in Europe, Canada, Australia and Argentina will eat our lunch. They will fill the orders we lose and gain permanent access to the Chinese market."
Following are excerpts from Glickman's speech:
(begin excerpts)
Remarks
As Prepared for Delivery
by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
National Farmers Union 98th Anniversary Convention
February 28, 2000
Salt Lake City, UtahThank you very much, Lee. It's a pleasure to again join the Farmers Union as you approach an entire century of advocacy and leadership on behalf of the most skilled and diligent farmers and ranchers in the world.
Just as it was last year, we meet at a time of stress and hardship for the men and women of American agriculture. For about three years now, they've been battered by rock-bottom prices, shrinking global demand and record worldwide production, not to mention a slew of natural disasters.
During the last two years, Congress and the Administration were compelled to act $6 billion in emergency aid in 1998, followed by another $9 billion last year. This certainly helped many farmers. Plenty of them would not have otherwise had the cash flow to get through the year....
... I want to spend a minute talking about what I believe is the most important trade issue facing the agriculture community this year approving permanent Normal Trade Relations and thus easing China's accession to the World Trade Organization.
We're talking about the world's largest country, home to one out of every five people on earth, with an economy growing at 7 percent a year. Yet last fiscal year, every man, woman and child in China consumed less than 1 dollar's worth of American agricultural goods. In one year less than a dollar a person. We can't afford such limited access to a market this large and this fertile. China sells us $70 billion in total goods and services every year; we sell them $14 billion worth not a very good balance.
In joining the WTO, China would agree to eliminate many non-tariff barriers and to cut tariffs dramatically. The tariff on frozen beef cuts, for example, would fall from 45 percent to 12 percent. Cheese tariffs would drop from 50 to 12 percent, and oranges from 40 to 12.
Let me emphasize that we are not being complacent in our dealings with China. We have to be vigilant about monitoring China's compliance with its bilateral agricultural commitments, as well as it's actions on human rights, labor and other issues.
There are some encouraging signs. Today, China has announced a purchase of 50,000 tons of American wheat. That includes 30,000 metric tons of soft white wheat and 10,000 metric tons each of hard red spring and hard red winter wheat, all to be shipped from the Pacific Northwest.
We hope that there will be many more such purchases to come. In fact, if Congress passes NTR and if China does join the WTO, it will mean an additional $2 billion a year in total U.S. farm exports to China by 2005. And that's a very conservative estimate.
If we don't go down this road, then other nations will. It's a dog-eat-dog global marketplace out there. If we unilaterally choose not to take advantage of new overseas opportunities, our friends in Europe, Canada, Australia and Argentina will eat our lunch. They will fill the orders we lose and gain permanent access to the Chinese market.
(end excerpts)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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