CRAIGforCONGRESS

Missouri's 7th District, U.S. House of Representatives

  
 

 

 

Congressional Issues 2010
MISSOURI FARM BUREAU
International Trade



Missouri Farm Bureau

Kevin Craig - "Liberty Under God"

Agricultural Trade  
We encourage the United States Department of Agriculture and Congress to make every effort to increase exports of agricultural commodities. Government promotion of either exports or imports is unconstitutional and destructive of the prosperity which the Free Market provides
We support adequate funding for the Foreign Agriculture Service in order to provide a continuing effort to promote foreign market development of agricultural commodities. Marketing is outside the authority granted to government by the Constitution.
We favor the U.S. eliminating trade distorting subsidies as long as other countries do likewise. The U.S. should do what is right even if other countries do not.
We believe that export bonus or incentive programs should be applied to all trade partners on bulk and value added agricultural products.  
We support the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority..  
We applaud the Administration's efforts to improve access to foreign markets through multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade negotiations. We continue to support agriculture negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to help reduce barriers to trade. However, we oppose reductions in U.S. farm support if developed countries do not agree to dramatically reduce their trade-distorting domestic supports. Any final WTO agreement must provide greater foreign market access for U.S. producers and address the trade distorting policies of developed and developing nations. Free trade is undistorted trade. Other countries should be encouraged to lower barriers to U.S. producers, but the U.S. should also eliminate all barriers to U.S. consumer access to foreign products.
Due to the dramatic increase in the cost of fertilizer and the fact that domestic fertilizer manufacturers no longer need the protection of tariffs to ensure profitability, we believe tariffs on fertilizer imports should be eliminated.  
For foreign ethanol imports, we support the tariff expiration date set forth in the 2008 Farm Bill.  
We support the U.S. Trade Representative moving forward with Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) so long as each agreement is evaluated in terms of the overall benefit for U.S. agriculture.  
Our government should insist on strict implementation of international trade rules to prevent unfair practices by competing nations. We oppose inclusion of remaining U.S. agricultural import restrictions unless other countries agree that their restrictions are negotiable.  
We strongly oppose interference in the movement of commodities by unions or trade groups.  
We believe that foreign grain sales should continue to be handled by private companies and/or co-ops rather than by government grain boards.  
In order to offset trade barriers and subsidized foreign competition, to regain important export markets, and to achieve a more equitable trade balance, we favor increased funding for programs that will reduce the price of United States farm exports either directly or indirectly through reduced interest rates.  
We support sufficient funding for the revolving fund administered by the Commodity Credit Corporation for the purpose of promoting export sales of agricultural commodities.  
We vigorously oppose the imposition of any import levies by the European Union (EU) on U.S. farm products, which now enter the EU under a duty-free binding.  
We support the careful consideration of the United States writing off substantial portions of the debt of other countries. New York investment firms should not have their defaulted loans paid by U.S. taxpayers.
Farm Bureau should assist farmers in developing ways of marketing farm products directly to export customers.  
We support the concept of more open trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We believe the U.S. government should continue to closely monitor the enforcement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its effect on U.S. agriculture. We oppose changes to NAFTA which would relax existing commitments made by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. www.STOPtheSPP.US
We oppose any transportation agreement or initiative that compromises our sovereignty by building a super highway from Mexican ports to Canada.  
We believe the United States should continue its efforts to obtain reductions in the variable import levies and other trade restrictions now imposed by our trading partners.  
We believe that the USDA and private sector companies should work to promote the acceptance of biotechnology-enhanced products by our trade partners. We support the WTO ruling against the European Union for its illegal moratorium on approving agricultural biotech products and member-state bans on previously approved products. We urge the U.S. Trade Representative to vigorously work to ensure the EU complies with the ruling in its entirety or seek appropriate remedies.  
We are opposed to any restrictions on agricultural exports to Cuba.  
Russia should continue to lower trade barriers to U.S. agricultural commodities prior to joining the WTO.  
China should adhere to the rules set by the WTO and should be closely monitored to ensure agricultural trade commitments are upheld.  
We believe our trading partners should adhere to the science-based international guidelines for normalizing beef trade. The Administration and Congress should take action against countries that do not acknowledge these standards and reopen their markets to U.S. beef.  
We strongly support the concept of "single undertaking" in trade negotiations.  
Cargo Preference  
We support exempting all exports from costly cargo preference requirements.  
If subsidization of the U.S. maritime industry can be justified on the basis of national security considerations, then subsidies should be provided in a more direct manner rather than being borne by the American farmer .  
Embargoes  
We believe embargoes, trade sanctions or other efforts to restrict farm exports should only be accomplished through an Act of Congress, not as a result of action by the President, Secretary of State or other government officials. Embargoes should not be imposed on farm products unless national security is at stake and all trade, technology, and exchanges are halted.  
Exports-Product Quality  
We support a study on the feasibility of containerized shipments of grain from farm to export user. This would eliminate much damage to grain and would allow the producer to be paid according to the quality of his grain.  
Foreign Trade Offices  
We commend the Missouri Department of Agriculture for their aggressive international marketing effort and their successful efforts to expand marketing for Missouri farm products. We support the establishment of trade offices in other countries.  
Import Standards  
We recommend that all imported agricultural products be subject to the same inspection, sanitary, quality, labeling, and residue standards as domestic products. Any products that do not meet these standards should be refused entry.  
Foreign products produced with the use of pesticides and other materials that are not allowed in this country or that are slaughtered and processed under standards that are not as strict as those in the United States should not be imported into the United States.  
Imports-Public Funds  
We oppose the use of public funds for the purchase of imported meat and dairy products.  
We recommend that only domestic agricultural products be used in government-supported institutions and distribution programs .  
International Assistance  
We believe global poverty should be addressed; however, we oppose any initiative that contradicts U.S. farm policy and promotes policies that would put American producers at a disadvantage in international markets.  
We urge expanded use of P. L. 480 to permit the United States to continue to provide food assistance to needy countries and utilize our surplus commodity stocks. Criticism is made above of "trade-distorting domestic supports," but the dumping of surplus commodity stocks has the effect of putting small producers in recipient countries out of business.
We oppose economic aid through any state, federal, or international program or private lending institutions which contribute to the production or distribution of any agricultural products produced by our foreign competitors. Assistance currently in place should be curtailed immediately.  

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