OPENING STATEMENT 

 BY 

 CONGRESSMAN GARY A. CONDIT 



HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 



HEARING ON PROPOSED 

 U.S. - MEXICO FREE TRADE AGREEMENT 



MARCH 17, 1993 



Mr. Chairman, I would like to take this opportunity to thank 

 you for holding this hearing on the important subject of the North 

 American Free Trade Agreement. As you know, I have concerns about 

 the impact of such an agreement on the economy of my state and my 

 congressional district. To this end, I look forward in hearing 

 Ambassador Kantor's views on this historic trade accord. 



The U.S. agriculture industries I believe most at risk are the 

 fruit and vegetable industries. The implications for California 

 agriculture are obvious. Agricultural trade between the U.S. and 

 Mexico is almost perfectly balanced. In 1991, the U.S. reported 

 nearly $3 billion worth of agricultural exports to Mexico. Mexico, 

 in turn, exported $2.5 billion in agricultural products to the 

 United States. The picture dims however when the products shipped 

 between the t,wo countries are more closely examined. The majority 

 of U.S. exports to Mexico include bulk feed grain and livestock 

 products. The primary agricultural exports from Mexico to the U.S. 

 are horticultural products. It is safe to say the horticultural 

 products which are grown in the U.S. will experience the greatest 

 competition from Mexican producers. But even in this instance, the 



