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Thank you Chairman Penny for inviting me to testify before the Subcommittee on Foreign Agriculture 

 and Hunger on the subject of "Long-Term Trade Strategy and Export Policies." 



By way of background, I am the President of the Northwest Horticultural Council located in Yakima, 

 Washington. The Council represents growers and shippers of apples, pears, cherries and other 

 deciduous fruits grown in Idaho, Oregon and Washington on a number of policy issues including 

 those related to international trade. I am immediate past chairman of the United States Agricultural 

 Export Development Council and current chairman of the Coalition to Promote US. Agricultural 

 Exports. In addition, for the past twelve years, I have served as a private sector advisor either on the 

 Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Fruits and Vegetables or, its sister organization, 

 the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade (APAC). 



I applaud the Subcommittee on Foreign Agriculture and Hunger for initiating an early discussion on 

 general trade policy prior to crafting specific legislation for inclusion in the next Farm Bill. 



You have asked for two broad areas of discussion. I will address them in the order raised and then 

 add a few additional comments with your permission. 



What will the markets look like, which countries will the U.S. be trading with, what products 

 will they purchase and what mechanisms are necessary to access these markets? 



In answering this question, I need to quickly point out that I am not knowledgeable about markets for 

 our bulk commodities. Other witnesses before you today will certainly provide their viewpoint 

 covering these crops. In terms of fruits and vegetables and a number of other high value or value 



