LONG-TERM TRADE STRATEGY AND EXPORT 



POLICIES 



THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 1994 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Foreign Agriculture and Hunger, 



Committee on Agriculture, 



Washington, DC. 



The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in room 

 1302, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Timothy J. Penny 

 (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 



Present: Representatives Barlow, Stenholm, Allard, Doolittle, 

 and Canady. 



Staff present: Joseph Muldoon, associate counsel; Glenda L. Tem- 

 ple, clerk; Jane Shey, Bruce White, Anita R. Brown, James A. 

 Davis, and Lynn Gallagher. 



OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. TIMOTHY J. PENNY, A REP- 

 RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MIN- 

 NESOTA 



Mr. Penny. Today's hearing will come to order. 



This is part of a series of hearings in which the subcommittee 

 has focused on trade issues. We are anxious to continue this proc- 

 ess in preparation for the 1995 farm bill. 



The subcommittee has explored issues such as high value exports 

 and their contribution to rural economies. Last month, we looked 

 at the implications of agricultural trade with Cuba, and we have 

 also explored the potential for alternative crops. Now we are going 

 to focus on the direction of U.S. agricultural trade policy for the fu- 

 ture. 



Since the 1995 farm bill authorizes programs for a 5-year period, 

 next year's deliberations will set the tone as agriculture moves into 

 the 21st century. The question is, how best to respond to a world 

 which has changed greatly since the last major farm bill in 1990, 

 and the last major trade bill of that same timeframe. 



We are interested in learning more about the composition of fu- 

 ture markets, the countries which will be our major trading part- 

 ners, the products they will purchase, and the mechanisms nec- 

 essary to access these markets. We want to explore today whether 

 current policies assist the United States as we trade in a very com- 

 petitive world. Do we have the flexibility we need in export pro- 

 grams? Do we have the personnel and the expertise in the fastest 

 growing markets in order to help us secure these markets? Or 

 should we consider new programs or policies to utilize the compara- 



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