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democracies have made clear the important role strengthened agricultural cooperation can 

 play in creating a proclivity for trade with the United States and an overall favorable bilateral 

 relationship. This is why the merger of FAS and the functions of the former OICD into the 

 new ITS agency is important in strengthening our ability to support this kind of relationship. 

 The technical assistance, exchanges and joint scientific research personnel of the former 

 OICD supports direct benefits to U.S. agriculture, and strengthens the vital spirit of 

 cooperation with the emerging democracies. In addition, the programs of the former OICD 

 bring new scientific and technical knowledge to our shores and keep our research and 

 development efforts on the cutting edge - and helps maintain our competitive position in 

 world markets. 



Subcommittee Questions 



Having laid a groundwork of policy direction, I will answer each of the questions 

 posed by the subcommittees. 



1. Merger of FAS and the functions of the former OICD into ITS . 



- The merger does not overburden management resources; indeed we expect savings 

 in administrative costs. 



~ It makes good sense to unite the major international efforts of the Department, to 

 provide greater coordination and synergism than in the past. With the addition of the 

 technical assistance elements of the former OICD, we will be in a better position to "package 

 programs" in selected markets. 



