52 



STATEMENT OF TERRY N. BARR, CHIEF ECONOMIST AND VICE 

 PRESIDENT, AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY, NATIONAL 

 COUNCIL OF FARMER COOPERATD7ES 



Mr. Barr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Terry Barr 

 and I am vice president for agriculture and trade policy for the Na- 

 tional Council of Farmer Cooperatives. I would like to submit my 

 testimony for the record and make a few comments. 



The members of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives 

 recognize that if agriculture is to be a growth industry in the 21st 

 century, it must be viable and competitive in a global economy. 

 This will require Government policies that ensure the competitive- 

 ness of agriculture is felt in the marketplace. 



The coming transition under the terms of the recently signed 

 GATT agreement is a case in point. This agreement does not elimi- 

 nate existing trade distorting policies. It does reduce subsidies, but 

 it does not eliminate them. It allows expansion of green box pro- 

 grams such as export promotion and development, export credit, 

 and food assistance. 



Competitors have already indicated that they will shift into 

 green box programs to maintain market share, primarily a shifting 

 into the export credit programs particularly. U.S. policies must be 

 responsive to this reality. 



The reports that the administration may seek substantial spend- 

 ing cuts for agriculture as part of the GATT implementing legisla- 

 tion is reason for concern. Such proposals would severely damage 

 our market position in the near term and are grossly unfair since 

 agriculture only accounts for less than 5 percent of the $10 to $14 

 billion revenue losses currently attributable to the GATT imple- 

 mentations. Additional spending cuts, when our competitors shift 

 funds into green box programs, is a unilateral forfeiture of mar- 

 kets. 



For these reasons, the National Council has joined with a broad- 

 based coalition of food and agricultural interests to stress our con- 

 cerns. I would like to submit, as an attachment to my prepared 

 statement, for the record, the letter from the coalition to the Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture, Mike Espy, outlining such concerns in more 

 detail. 



I know many members of this committee have expressed similar 

 concerns and the coalition appreciates your continued leadership on 

 this issue. The coalition has urged the following action: Maintain 

 funding for domestic and export programs as allowed by GATT, en- 

 suring that the export programs are aggressively utilized, EEP, 

 DEIP, COAP, and SOAP; require that funds not used for export 

 subsidies under GATT be redirected for green box programs; mar- 

 ket development promotion, export credit, food assistance or other 

 programs authorized. 



I understand that Representatives Jill Long, Jack Kingston, Bill 

 Emerson, and Earl Pomeroy have indicated they plan to introduce 

 legislation reflecting these recommendations. We would like to take 

 this opportunity to strongly endorse such legislation and urge that 

 it be part of the GATT implementing legislation. Such legislation 

 would require no additional outlays and would ensure agriculture's 

 ability to compete and capitalize on potential market opportunities. 



