16 



NAFTA does not require any changes in stringent U.S. standards 

 for food safety, animal or plant health, or environmental protection. 

 Nor does it prevent the adoption, maintenance, or enforcement of 

 even tougher scientifically based standards, including those more 

 stringent than international standards, including some adopted by 

 your States. NAFTA does not exempt our NAFTA partners from 

 meeting U.S. quality and grade standards for fruits, vegetables, 

 and other products. And lastly, the NAFTA does not prevent us 

 from using the Market Promotion Program, nor does it stop us 

 from using the Export Enhancement Program, as well as other 

 measures to counter the unfair trading practices of our competitors. 



Mr. Chairman, you had earlier forwarded specific questions to 

 me, some of which I have answered and I am sure we will answer 

 in Q and A. But you asked about the impact on U.S. farm income, 

 the operation of U.S. farm programs, and the U.S.-Mexican agri- 

 cultural balance of trade. 



Very quickly, USDA projections show that the increased import 

 demand from Mexico resulting from NAFTA will boost U.S. farm 

 cash receipts a projected 2 to 3 percent. Increased U.S. exports to 

 Mexico will generate more than 50,000 new jobs on the farm and 

 in the food industries because of NAFTA, and no changes in our 

 domestic farm programs will be required. 



On the question of safety of imports of agricultural products, 

 NAFTA specifically recognizes the right of each country to establish 

 its own levels for protection of human, animal, and plant health, 

 and the obligations of each country to use science-based standards. 

 NAFTA also allows State and local governments to enact their own 

 tough standards without restriction, so long as the methods used 

 to determine if imports meet those standards are scientifically de- 

 fensible. 



Imports that do not meet U.S. health and safety standards will 

 not be permitted within the United States. USDA and the Food 

 and Drug Administration will continue to enforce legal limits on 

 pesticide residues and refuse entry to any products that do not 

 meet these limits. So the bottom line is, Mr. Chairman, the United 

 States will maintain its high standards for public health and food 

 safety, and there will be no compromise in these areas. 



You also asked about rules of origin under the NAFTA. NAFTA 

 includes strong country-of-origin rules so that the incentives for 

 trade within North American do not open the flood gates to free ac- 

 cess for the products of countries outside this continent. Commod- 

 ities from non-NAFTA countries must be transformed or processed 

 significantly before they can receive NAFTA preferential treatment. 

 NAFTA gives U.S. Customs auditors the ability to visit business fa- 

 cilities in Canada and Mexico to ensure that tariff preferences go 

 only to qualifying goods. 



I should point out that, in general, NAFTA's rules of origin for 

 the U.S. -Mexico agreement are stronger than those in the U.S. -Ca- 

 nadian Free Trade Agreement. This administration will take what- 

 ever steps are necessary to ensure that U.S. workers are not in- 

 jured because of illegal activity by those who would try to import 

 non-NAFTA goods to the United States, passing them off as a prod- 

 uct of a NAFTA country. 



