127 



BMP, NAFTA 



FLORIDA FRUIT & VEGETABLE ASSOCIATION 

 NAFTA Statement 



September 20, 1993 



Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) — an organization that represents 

 Florida's vegetable, citrus, tropical fruit and sugar cane growers — believes the North 

 American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as presently written will harm the winter 

 fruit and vegetable industry. 



Numerous governmental and private organization studies have examined the 

 potential impact of the proposed agreement on the U.S. economy. The U.S. International 

 Trade Commission (ITC) in February, 1991, reported that the winter fruit and vegetable 

 industry in the United States would suffer losses in employment and production as a 

 result of a free trade arrangement with Mexico. Subsequent studies have confirmed 

 these findings, including a recently-released report by the Council for Agricultural 

 Science and Technology (CAST). 



In an effort to prevent potential damage to the industry, FFVA and other 

 agricultural groups representing the fruit and vegetable industry in the United States 

 worked cooperatively with the Bush Administration, and subsequently the Clinton 

 Administration, to develop provisions within the agreement that would provide Florida 

 producers the opportunity to compete on an equitable basis. To date — despite good 

 faith efforts - neither the agreement itself, nor the recently-concluded side agreements, 

 contain the kind of substantive measures needed to prevent harm from occurring to the 

 industry. 



FFVA's position on the agreement has remained constant throughout the 

 negotiation process. Specific measures designed to mitigate harm to the industry must 

 be included in the NAFTA or FFVA recommends that Congress reject the agreement. 

 The specific measures are: 



1. Tariff phase-out: Sensitive winter fruit, vegetable and citrus commodities must 



be provided a transition period that affords producers of these commodities with the 

 maximum time for adjustment. 



