With slow population growth
in the U.S., relative to most developing
nations, future growth in the U.S. livestock
and meat sector is linked to our ability to
open and expand export markets for meat
products, according to AMI Vice President for
International Trade Leonard Condon. Condon
made his remarks in testimony before the House
Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on
Livestock, Dairy and Poultry.
The hearing was called to examine the status
and prospects for meat and poultry trade with
Australia and New Zealand. According to Condon,
we import more beef than any other country and
we are challenging Australia for the position
of the world’s largest exporter of beef. We
also are pursuing new opportunities for
exporting pork and poultry to New Zealand and
Australia.
“Because we are
now in the unusual position of being both a
large importer and a large exporter of meat, we
encounter Australia and New Zealand both as
suppliers to our market and fierce competitors
in the markets we supply,” Condon said.
Despite the sometimes fierce
competition, Condon said that the three nations
have stood together in supporting
liberalization of agricultural trade on a
global basis. All three nations also supported
inclusion of language related to
“equivalence” of inspection systems in
major trade agreements.
While
the U.S. is a “plaintiff” against the
European Union on some meat inspection
equivalence issues, Condon called the U.S. a
“defendant” in Australia’s Project 2
initiative, which seeks U.S. acceptance of
products inspected under an innovative system
that turns many inspection functions over to
plant employees. The U.S. so far has attached
a number of conditions to this acceptance.
“The important point is that,
as a major exporter and importer of meat, the
United States is in a unique position and has
interested in requesting and granting
equivalence determinations,” he said. “If
we want other countries to respond reasonably
and expeditiously when we request that our
inspection measures be considered equivalent,
it is important for us to respond to requests
made to us in a reasonable and expeditious
manner.”
Finally, Condon said
that three major groups were instrumental in
supporting liberalization of agricultural trade
during the Uruguay round negotiations: the
U.S., the EU and the Cairns group -- an
alliance of 13 countries that includes
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Brazil and a host of Asian nations
-- named after the Australian city in which the
group first met in 1986.
“The
danger we currently face is that if the
Congress does not provide ‘fast track’
authority to the Administration, the United
States will be unable to constructively
participate in the next round of multilateral
trade negotiations which are scheduled to start
in 1999,” he said. “Those negotiations
will once again refer to a two-party
discussion, only this time it will be the Cairn
Group and the European Union. There is no
reason to expect …results on agriculture any
more ambitious that those produced in the seven
rounds of multilateral trade negotiations which
preceded the Uruguay Round.”
AMI represents the interests of packers and
processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey
products and their suppliers throughout North
America. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the
Institute provides legislative, regulatory and
public relations services, conducts scientific
and economic research, offers marketing and
technical assistance and sponsors education
programs.
AMI Says Future Growth in the U.S. Livestock and Meat Sector linked to Opening and Expanding Export Markets
Thursday, February 26, 1998
For more information contact:
Janet Riley Vice President, Public Affairs 703-841-2400 jriley@meatinstitute.org |
James Ratchford Manager, Public Affairs 703-841-2400 jratchford@meatinstitute.org |

