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Statement by Christopher Goldthwait 



General Sales Manager 



Foreign Agricultural Service 



U.S. Department of Agriculture 



Before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on 



Foreign Agriculture and Hunger 



June 23, 1994 



Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to 

 discuss the U.S. Department of Agriculture's long-term trade strategy and U.S. 

 agricultural export prospects. Before I discuss our export goals and outline our strategy 

 for reaching those goals, I would like to spend a few moments talking about markets for 

 U.S. agricultural products and what these markets will look like in the year 2000. 



Agricultural Markets in the Year 2000 



With the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement 

 (NAFTA) and the conclusion of the Uruguay Round GATT Agreement, we believe the 

 future is bright, offering real o pportunity for expanding U.S. agricultural exports, 

 strengthening our ability to compete globally, and increasing farm income for America's 

 farmers and ranchers. 



While we cannot be certain as to what the future will be, there are clear trends 

 we can point to in international agricultural trade and in U.S. agricultural exports that 

 we are confident will continue through the end of the century. Given these trends, we 

 have a pretty good idea how the markets of the year 2000 will look. 



