115 



3. Standards: From a competitive standpoint, Florida agriculture is greatly concerned about the 

 differences in environmental, food safety, and labor regulations between the United States and Mexico. 

 The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations are a major factor in the cost of production for 

 Florida agriculture. The industry had requested harmonization of applicable laws and regulations in 

 order to balance the competitive playing field between the two nations. Although the agreement 

 encourages the adoption of international standards, it allows each party to establish its own rules. The 

 agreement must be modified to require harmonization of standards-related measures within 10 years 

 of the implementation date. In addition, the agreement must be modified to require equitable 

 enforcement of each nation's laws and regulations regarding the production of goods and services. 



4. Sanitary and Phvtosanltarv Regulations: The NAFTA confirms the right of each nation to adopt and 

 maintain sanitary and phytosanitary measures necessary to protect human, anim al or plant life. The 

 agreement must ensure that VS. agriculture continues to be protected from the Introduction of 

 harmful pests and diseases that could threaten human, plant or animal health. 



5. Transshipment and Substitution: The industry expressed concern that non-participating countries in 

 the NAFTA would ship products through Mexico or CanaJ^i into the United States and receive the 

 benefits of the agreement. The NAFTA contains rules of origin designed to prevent such abuses. It 

 is essential that the agreement contain strong enforcement mechanisms. The agreement does not 

 prevent the substitution of non-participant products from being used in a member's country so that the 

 member country's production can be shipped to another member. The agreement must ensure the 

 practice of substitution is not utilized by a member country to the detriment of another member 

 country. 



6. Data Collection: The industry is concerned with the lack of adequate, reliable information on Mexican 

 agricultural production. The agreement must be modified to include a requirement that Mexico 

 develop complete statistical information on its agricultural sector in areas such as acreage, yield, 

 consumption, trade, etc. 



Addendum 1: Fruit and Vegetables 



The North American Free Trade Agreement must be modified to place Florida-produced fruit and 

 vegetables into the most sensitive tariff phase-out period. The following commodities should be given the 

 maximum phase-out period provided for in the agreement, plus have access to a special safeguard mechanism, 

 from the period October 1 to July 14, each year: 



potatoes, fresh 



tomatoes 



cherry tomatoes 



cauliflower 



cabbage 



head lettuce 



other lettuce 



carrots 



radishes 



cucumbers 



beans, all 



eggplant 



celery 



bell peppers 



squash 



sweet corn 



parsley 



other vegetables 



cantaloupes 



watermelons 



strawberries 



