27 



The bottom line is that NAFTA should give U.S. agricultural pro- 

 ducers significant opportunity in our fastest growing export mar- 

 ket. We expect particular benefits for our exports of beef, pork, 

 poultry, eggs, dairy products, grains, and oilseeds. 



The NAFTA also contains strong provisions in chapter 7 safe- 

 guarding the ability of Federal and State governments to set the 

 standards they deem appropriate to limit exposure to pesticide resi- 

 dues and other additives and contaminants. 



President Clinton is committed to the successful completion of 

 the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, which has 

 been ongoing since 1986. Several complex issues remain to be re- 

 solved. The Clinton administration, in consultation with the private 

 sector and Congress, is focusing on the remaining obstacles to be 

 overcome before the Uruguay Round is completed. 



I think we can complete the Uruguay Round in a way that will 

 benefit the United States and the world economy, but based on our 

 discussions to date I do not believe that we were as close to comple- 

 tion as some reported in early January. When the EC Trade Min- 

 ister, Sir Leon Brittan, was here in February, I told him that our 

 goal was a good agreement, and not just a quick one. 



By the way, I talked to Sir Leon just this morning, Mr. Chair- 

 man, and reiterated that concern. I will be in Brussels on the 29th 

 of this month to begin those discussions. 



Let me also indicate that about 45 minutes ago we began our dis- 

 cussions at the Deputy level with our Mexican and Canadian trad- 

 ing partners on the supplemental agreements. 



The administration is carefully reviewing the agreement on in- 

 ternal support and export subsidies reached between the United 

 States and the European Community at Blair House last Novem- 

 ber, and we must resolve with the EC a number of questions re- 

 garding the implementation by the EC of that agreement and the 

 draft Uruguay Round text on agriculture. 



The question of whether we can conclude an agreement depends 

 very much on market access commitments for goods and services 

 that are still being negotiated. If we obtain good results on market 

 access — cutting tariffs, breaking down nontariff barriers — the Uru- 

 guay Round will offer significant potential benefits for the Amer- 

 ican farm community. The Department of Agriculture has esti- 

 mated that a successful Uruguay Round agreement would expand 

 United States agricultural exports by $6 billion to $8 billion annu- 

 ally after 5 years, and add $1 billion to $2 billion to farm income. 



We chose to announce the administration's decision to seek the 

 renewal of fast-track procedures when Sir Leon Brittan was here 

 because the Uruguay Round depends, in the first instance, on U.S. 

 and EC leadership in setting out the ambitious objectives to be 

 achieved in areas such as market access. The 3-year deadlock be- 

 tween the rest of the world and the EC over agriculture stalemated 

 the Uruguay Round and gave other nations, most notably Japan, 

 the ability to avoid contributing meaningfully to the successful 

 completion of the talks. 



In this, Mr. Chairman, the EC and the United States are united 

 in insisting that the Japanese take a more active part in these dis- 

 cussions. 



