21 



CHARLES T. CANADY 



'2tm Distbict Florida 



COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 



DtPARTMENT OPtR*TIONS AND NUTRITION 



FOREIGN AGRICULTURE AND HUNGER 



COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

 CIVIL AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS 

 ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL LAW 

 INTERNATIONAL LAW IMMIGRATION, 

 AND REFUGEES 



Congregg of tfte ®nitcb States 

 J^ousr of Ecprcsentatibes 



8aa8l)ington, 1B€ 20515-0912 



STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN CHARLES CANADY 



of Florida 



before the House Agriculture Conunittee 



March 17, 1993 



1 107 LONCWORTH BUILOtNC 



Washinoton. DC 20SI5-O9I2 

 1202) 226-1252 



Federal BuiLOmo 



124 South Tennessee avenue 



lakeland fl 33801 



18101 688-2651 



Mr. Chairman, As the Conunittee moves to review the provisions of 

 the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement, we must 

 carefully scrutinize the trade pact to ensure that America's 

 agriculture producers are not put at an unfair disadvantage in 

 the global market place. Florida's $6.2 billion agriculture 

 industry will be subject to a major trade agreement that, while 

 helping other sectors of agriculture across the country, could 

 devastate Florida agriculture as we know it. 



High-tech, labor intensive production is at the heart of Florida 

 agriculture. Because of this, our growers are greatly burdened 

 by the cost of government regulations. Our producers must comply 

 with labors laws, environmental laws, transportation laws and 

 numerous other government regulations that place an added cost on 

 producers that many estimate to be 3 0-percent of the production 

 costs. Government has added that 30-percent to the cost of 

 agriculture production, in order to guarantee the American 

 consumer that U.S. products are safe and nutritious. Mexican 

 producers face a far different government and regulatory 

 environment. 



Mr. Chairman, this is not a question of whether Florida fruit and 

 vegetable producers can compete with imports from Mexico, Canada 

 or any other country. This is a question of whether they will be 

 allowed to compete. Our producers have spent millions of dollars 

 to transform their operations into the most efficient, 

 streamlined operations in the world. Let us not lose sight of 

 this success in our efforts to reach a trade agreement. 



I look forward to hearing the testimony of Ambassador Kantor 

 today and hope that as the Administration moves through the 

 construction of the implementing language and the negotiation of 

 the side-agreements, they will take into consideration that 

 Florida's producers, as well as America's producers, currently 

 produce the safest, most abundant food supply in the world. I 

 will not support an agreement that does not address the built in 

 competitive disadvantages our producers currently face. Without 

 properly addressing those disadvantages, the 30-percent of 

 production costs I spoke of earlier will be turned into a 30- 

 degree tilt in the international playing field and that tilt will 

 not be in our favor. 



Thank you Mr. Chairman. 



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