News . . . from the Nation's Pork Industry

September 19, 2000

Contact: Nick Giordano (NPPC) – 202-347-3600 or Scott Shearer (FARMLAND) – 202-783-5330

AGRICULTURE COALITION HAILS SENATE LANDSLIDE VOTE FOR CHINA PNTR

Members of the Agriculture Coalition for U.S.-- China Trade issued the following statement today in response to the 83-15 vote in the U.S. Senate today granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. The Agriculture Coalition for U.S.-China Trade represents more than 80 agriculture-related groups dedicated to promoting open trade with China.

"For American farmers, today’s U.S. Senate vote is the equivalent of a life-restoring cloudburst after months of drought," the Coalition said. "Passage of PNTR ensures that American producers will have the opportunity to compete for business on a level playing field once China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO). Had the Senate rejected or amended PNTR, the bill would have died with the adjournment of Congress. China would still have become a member of the WTO. However, producers in Japan, France, Canada and other countries would have taken advantage of lowered tariffs and other substantial market opportunities denied Americans.

"U.S. producers are increasingly dependent on foreign customers for their economic future. China, home to one out of every five people in the world, is the most significant new market for American farmers in a generation. The United States Department of Agriculture conservatively predicts American agricultural exports to China to leap from $1 billion to $3 billion annually in the first five years following China’s entry into the WTO.

"U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and her team deserve tremendous credit for negotiating an extraordinary market access agreement. What congress has demonstrated with the passage of PNTR is a keen understanding that relationships born of free trade improve the prospects for breakthroughs in many other areas."

The Agriculture Coalition for U.S.-China Trade is co-chaired by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and Farmland Industries.

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