IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 583

Expressing the sense of the House with respect to barriers between the

United States and Canada with regard to certain agriculture products.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 8, 1998

Mr. SMITH of Oregon (for himself, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. THUNE,

and Mr. HILL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to

the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee

on Agriculture, for a period to subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House with respect to barriers

between the United States and Canada with regard to

certain agriculture products.

Whereas the Canadian beef industry benefits from being able

to freely market slaughter cattle and beef in the United

States through provisions contained within the Canadian

Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade

Agreement, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (hereinafter in this resolution referred to as

‘‘GATT’’);

Whereas through these agreements the Canadian beef sector

enjoys treatment that provides its beef producers a com-
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parative advantage when marketing its product in the

United States, including—

(1) shipping ungraded beef carcasses from cattle

slaughtered in Canada to the United States for grading

using USDA beef quality grade markings, allowing the

Canadian beef to be marketed in a manner identical to

United States product; and

(2) shipping live cattle in sealed trucks for immediate slaughter in United States plants, which allows Canadian beef producers to avoid the costs of APHIS cattle health inspections and testing that would otherwise

apply. The beef from these cattle, once slaughtered in a

United States plan, is also assumed by United States

consumers to be United States beef;

Whereas Canadian beef producers are able to utilize the

United States beef marketing system virtually without restriction thereby enabling them to redistribute their marketing resources in promoting Canadian beef products in

competitive foreign markets to the detriment of the

United States exporters;

Whereas United States cattlemen do not benefit from commensurate access or treatment with respect to Canadian

marketing opportunities;

Whereas the Canadian Wheat Board, a state trading enterprise, maintains a monopoly on export trade in wheat

and does not operate in a transparent manner;

Whereas Canada has not agreed to terms of reference under

which an audit of the Canadian Wheat Board, as pro-
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vided for in the North American Free Trade Agreement

(hereinafter in this resolution referred to as ‘‘NAFTA’’),

may go forwarded;

Whereas the practices of Canada in failing to expand market

access have a long term adverse impact on the domestic

production of American agricultural products; and

Whereas Canada has resisted efforts to expand market access

for dairy, poultry, and eggs, which it protects with limited minimum market access quotas and prohibitively

high tariffs, which for some products exceed 300 percent

ad valorem: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Congress that—

2 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter in

3 this resolution referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)

4 should analyze trade between the United States and

5 Canada with regard to beef, beef cattle, wheat, bar6 ley, dairy, poultry, and eggs and report the findings

7 to the Committee on Agriculture in the House of

8 Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture,

9 Nutrition, and Forestry in the United States Senate;

10 (2) the report of the Secretary should include a

11 description, status, and analysis (including apparent

12 benefits and limitations to farmers and ranchers of

13 either country) of—

14 (A) the applicable general and specific pro15 visions of the GATT, CFTA, and NAFTA that
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1 facilitate or restrict trade in these commodities

2 and products between the 2 countries; and

3 (B) past, present, and anticipated future

4 actions and negotiations to resolve trade con5 cerns and complaints by either country with re6 spect to these commodities and products; and

7 (3) the Secretary should identify, analyze, and

8 report on the economic impact of trade agreements

9 and other agreements affecting trade between Can10 ada and the United States on the beef, wheat, and

11 barley sectors of both countries, including—

12 (A) an aggregate and regional analysis of

13 the impact on the beef, wheat, and barley in14 dustries; and

15 (B) a comparative national and regional

16 analysis of the impacts on specific segments of

17 the beef, wheat, and barley industries;

18 (4) the Secretary should analyze and report on

19 macroeconomic factors including currency exchange

20 rates and interest rates, which impact trade of agri21 cultural commodities between Canada and the

22 United States;

23 (5) based on the analyses described in this reso24 lution, the Secretary should identify any provisions

25 of the agreements and the implementation thereof
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1 that limit, inhibit, or otherwise restrict the ability of

2 the United States farmers and ranchers to benefit

3 from or mitigate the economic impact of trade be4 tween the United States and Canada;

5 (6) the Secretary should identify and analyze

6 the long term effect of the comparative advantage of

7 Canadian agricultural producers on the production

8 and competitiveness of American agricultural pro9 ducers; and

10 (7) the Secretary should identify and analyze

11 the long term effect of the lack of market access on

12 the production and competitiveness of American ag13 ricultural producers.

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