U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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79–118

" ! SENATE 106TH CONGRESS

1st Session

TREATY DOC.

1999

106–14

FOOD AID CONVENTION 1999

MESSAGE

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

TRANSMITTING

FOOD AID CONVENTION 1999, WHICH WAS OPEN FOR SIGNATURE

AT THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK, FROM

MAY 1 THROUGH JUNE 30, 1999. CONVENTION WAS SIGNED BY

THE UNITED STATES ON JUNE 16, 1999

OCTOBER 13, 1999.—Convention was read the first time, and together

with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign

Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate.

(III)

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

THE WHITE HOUSE, October 13, 1999.

To the Senate of the United States:

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to

ratification, I transmit herewith the Food Aid Convention 1999,

which was open for signature at the United Nations Headquarters,

New York, from May 1 through June 30, 1999. The Convention was

signed by the United States June 16, 1999. I transmit also, for the

information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State

with respect to the Convention.

The Food Aid Convention 1999 replaces the Food Aid Convention

1995. Donor members continue to make minimum annual commitments that can be expressed either in the quantity or, under the

new Convention, the value of the food aid they will provide to developing countries.

As the United States has done in the past, it is participating provisionally in the Food Aid Committee. The Committee granted the

United States (and other countries) a 1-year extension of time,

until June 30, 2000, in which to deposit its instrument of ratification.

It is my hope that the Senate will give prompt and favorable consideration to this Convention, and give its advice and consent to

ratification by the United States at the earliest possible date.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

(V)

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, September 2, 1999.

The PRESIDENT,

The White House.

THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you, with a view

to transmission to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification,

the Food Aid Convention 1999, which was open for signature at the

United Nations Headquarters, New York, from May 1 through

June 30, 1999. The Convention was signed by the United States on

June 16, 1999.

The Food Aid Convention 1999 replaces the Food Aid Convention

1995, which expired June 30, 1999. The Food Aid Convention is

one of two constituent instruments that constitute the International Grains Agreement, to which the United States is a party.

(The second part—the Grains Trade Convention 1995—was recently extended for two years without amendment.) The Convention entered into force internationally on July 1 and will remain in

force until June 30, 2002, unless extended further.

At the December 1996 World Trade Organization meeting in

Singapore, Ministers charged the Food Aid Committee, the organization that administers the Food Aid Convention, with negotiating

a new Convention to establish a level of food aid commitments that

would cover as wide a range of donors and donative foodstuffs as

possible, in order to meet the legitimate needs of developing countries. From February 1998 to April 1999, the United States and

other governments party to the Food Aid Convention 1995 engaged

in negotiations to draft this new Convention in a manner that reflected these objectives as well as the changing nature of food assistance.

The Food Aid Convention provides an international, donors-only

forum to discuss food assistance. Under the Food Aid Convention

1999, donor members make minimum annual commitments which

can be designated either by quantity or, pursuant to a new provision, the value of the food aid they will provide to developing countries. As did its predecessor, the Food Aid Convention 1999 commits the United States to donate or sell on concessional terms at

least 2.5 million tons of food aid annually. All parties to the 1995

Convention—the United States, the European Community (and its

member states), Japan, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland

and Argentina—are already parties or intend to participate in the

new Convention. Certain donors previously have purchased U.S.

grains to meet their food aid pledges.
VI

While the basic principles and objectives of the Food Aid Convention 1995 have not changed, there are several important innovations in the new Convention, including:

—broadening the list of eligible commodities beyond grains and

legumes to include such critical food products as edible oils and

milk powder;

—encouraging members to fortify their contributed food and to

provide dietary supplements such as vitamins by counting

these products toward a member’s annual contribution;

—encouraging donors to provide food aid to difficult-to-reach destinations by permitting transport and other operational costs

to be counted toward a member’s contributions;

—promoting local agricultural development and markets in recipient countries; and

—improving information-sharing and coordination among members.

Among other benefits, these changes have made the Food Aid

Convention 1999 a more flexible instrument, one that it is hoped

will encourage new members and the provision of additional food

aid.

On July 2, 1999, the Food Aid Committee granted the United

States (and certain other countries) an extension until June 30,

2000, to deposit its instrument of ratification to this Convention.

As it has previously, the United States will provisionally apply the

Food Aid Convention to ensure that there is an adequate supply of

food aid, particularly as needed for emergencies.

The Secretary of Agriculture joins me in recommending that this

Convention be transmitted to the Senate for its early and favorable

consideration.

Respectfully submitted,

STROBE TALBOT.
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