Missouri Farm Bureau
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Kevin Craig - "Liberty Under God"
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| Agricultural
Trade |
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| 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. |
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| We support the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority.. |
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| 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. |
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| For
foreign ethanol imports, we support the tariff expiration date set
forth in the 2008 Farm Bill. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| We strongly
oppose interference in the movement of commodities by unions or
trade groups. |
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| We
believe that foreign grain sales should continue to be handled by
private companies and/or co-ops rather than by government grain
boards. |
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| 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. |
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| We
support sufficient funding for the revolving fund administered by
the Commodity Credit Corporation for the purpose of promoting export
sales of agricultural commodities. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| We are
opposed to any restrictions on agricultural exports to Cuba. |
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| Russia should
continue to lower trade barriers to U.S. agricultural commodities
prior to joining the WTO. |
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| China should
adhere to the rules set by the WTO and should be closely monitored
to ensure agricultural trade commitments are upheld. |
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| 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. |
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| We strongly
support the concept of "single undertaking" in trade
negotiations. |
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| Cargo
Preference |
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| We support
exempting all exports from costly cargo preference requirements. |
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| 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 . |
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| Embargoes |
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| 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. |
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| Exports-Product
Quality |
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| 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. |
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| Foreign
Trade Offices |
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| 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. |
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| Import
Standards |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Imports-Public
Funds |
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| We oppose the
use of public funds for the purchase of imported meat and dairy
products. |
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| We recommend
that only domestic agricultural products be used in
government-supported institutions and distribution programs . |
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| International
Assistance |
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| 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. |
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| 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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