IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 39
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the canned fruit
subsidy regime of the European Union is a bilateral trade concern
of high priority, for which prompt corrective action is needed.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 4, 1999
Mr. CONDIT (for himself, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. FARR of
California, Mr. POMBO, Mr. EWING, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr.
HERGER, and Mr. MATSUI) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
the canned fruit subsidy regime of the European Union
is a bilateral trade concern of high priority, for which
prompt corrective action is needed.
Whereas a dispute settlement panel, established under the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in
1984 found European Union canned fruit processing sub-
sidies to be inconsistent with the European Union’s
GATT obligations;
Whereas the United States, pursuant to an investigation of
European Union canned fruit subsidies under the author-
ity of section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, determined
in 1985 that the rights of the United States under the
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GATT have been denied by European Union canned fruit
processing subsidies;
Whereas, under the authority of section 301 of the Trade Act
of 1974, the United States reached an agreement with
the European Union in 1985, under which the European
Union has committed to discontinue subsidies to Euro-
pean Union canned peach processors;
Whereas, despite these legal and negotiated results, the Euro-
pean Union nevertheless has continued to provide sub-
sidies to its canned peach sector in the amount of
$160,000,000 to $200,000,000 annually, which amount
exceeds the total farm-gate value of United States cling
peaches;
Whereas data provided by the European Union demonstrate
that the European Union has violated the United States-
European Union canned fruit agreement in each of the
last five years for which data are available by an aggre-
gate amount in excess of $64,000,000;
Whereas, because these canned fruit subsidies are contingent
on the use of European Union peaches and enable prices
more favorable than those the European Union processor
would actually have paid for the imported product, such
subsidies continue to be inconsistent with the European
Union’s obligations under the World Trade Organization;
Whereas numerous canned peach producing countries, includ-
ing Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, and New Zea-
land, have taken formal trade remedy actions to protect
their industries from unfair European Union canned fruit
imports;
Whereas pervasive fraud and abuse under this subsidy regime
have also been documented;
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Whereas these subsidy excesses, violations, and abuses have
led to chronic European Union canned fruit surpluses
and escalating exports, which exports have severely un-
dercut prices and displaced United States sales in all
global markets;
Whereas European Union subsidy excesses in this sector are
so extreme that between 300,000 and 600,000 metric
tons of Greek peaches have been dumped annually in
waste pits, further depressing Greek and global canned
fruit prices;
Whereas the United States-European Union canned fruit
agreement has failed to prevent these trade-restrictive
and distortive consequences;
Whereas United States cling peach growers and processors
can no longer sustain the unfair competition and harm
being caused by unfairly subsidized European Union
canned peaches;
Whereas trade agreements such as the one now in place re-
garding European Union canned fruit are of no value if
they are inadequately enforced and deliver no relief to the
affected United States sector; and
Whereas the European Union for several years has resisted
efforts by the United States and most other non-Euro-
pean Union canned peach producing countries to correct
its canned fruit practices: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States Government should
promptly take all necessary corrective action against the
European Union canned peach subsidy regime in order to
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deliver tangible, meaningful relief to the United States in-
dustry and restore fair competition to this sector of trade.
Æ