Remarks
          As Prepared for Delivery
                                
                               by
             Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
                WTO Agriculture Proposal Rollout
                         June 29, 2000

     "Good afternoon.  I want to thank you all for being here.  I want to
acknowledge the members of APAC and ATAC, our advisory committees, for being
here, as well as other agricultural leaders.  And I want to thank them all for
helping the Administration craft a sound agricultural trade policy.

     "Tomorrow, in Geneva, the United States will present its negotiating
proposal for the next round of WTO agricultural talks.  It's an ambitious and
comprehensive proposal that moves us beyond the Uruguay Round to accelerate
world agricultural reform and create a level playing field for all farmers and
ranchers.  It establishes a blueprint for meeting the goals we've been talking
about for more than a year   eliminating export subsidies; lowering tariffs
and expanding tariff-rate quotas; disciplining state trading enterprises, and
facilitating trade in the products of new technologies. 

     "This plan will improve prospects for America's farmers and ranchers,
who are still coping with low commodity prices, worldwide surpluses and closed
markets.  Agriculture is twice as dependent on exports as the rest of the U.S.
economy.  To thrive in the 21st century, our farmers need access to a free and
fair global market.  This proposal would give them just that.

     "This proposal is fair.  It would allow agricultural trade to be
determined not by artificial supports but by the quality of goods and the
efficiency of production.  The plan also is fair in that it embraces
developing and least developed nations, helping them grow, further integrating
them into the world trading system. 

     "It also seeks to level the playing field by capping "trade distorting"
domestic support at an equal, fixed percentage of a country's total value of
agricultural production.  If we've heard one thing from U.S. producers over
the past several years, it's that we must avoid further across-the-board
percentage cuts, which leave our farmers at a disadvantage.  This happened
under the Uruguay Round, which mandated uniform cuts by all countries, but
still allowed those who started at a higher level to retain their advantage.

     "At the same time, our proposal preserves the right of nations to
support their farmers, conserve their natural resources, and support their
rural communities...as long as those efforts are not trade-distorting.

     "Ours is also a simplified proposal.  It would do away with the green
box/amber box/blue box system of classifying domestic support.  In its place
we would have two simple categories: exempt support, which has little or no
trade-distorting impact and non-exempt support, which  distorts trade and will
be capped.  This is one of the most innovative features of the U.S. proposal. 
It is essential because there are currently no limits on blue box, trade-
distorting expenditures.  The EU has exploited this loophole to the tune of
$25 billion per year, while U.S. blue box expenditures remain at zero.

     "The U.S. proposal is also responsible.  It recognizes that food, as a
basic necessity of life, is unique among all the goods and services traded in
the global economy.  The proposal is designed, then, to address food security
issues.  It reinforces the U.S. role as a reliable global supplier.  And it
helps ensure that developing nations are able to import the goods they need to
feed their people.

     "Let me just close by saying that this is a proposal for everyone. 
First of all, it's a plan that enjoys bipartisan support...as you can see by
the members of Congress here today.  Trade issues often lead to contentious
debates, but this proposal   and the principles it embodies   transcend
partisanship.  

     "But when I say this is a proposal for everyone, I'm also talking on a
much bigger scale.  First and foremost, it will provide farmers and ranchers,
in all nations, the opportunity to sell their commodities in every corner of
the earth, without being undercut by subsidized competition or blocked by high
tariffs.  It's also a proposal that is good for importers and exporters, and
for consumers, who will have a wider array of food choices at reasonable
prices.  

     "The choice is simple.  We can stick with the current system, under
which subsidies and monopolies distort trade, innovation is discouraged,
natural resources are abused and government resources are misdirected.  Or we
can take a bold new step toward leveling the playing field, allowing the
market to create new opportunities for farmers to grow and prosper.

     "Thank you very much.  Now, let me ask my colleague, Ambassador Charlene
Barshefsky, to say a few words.  She will be followed by Senators Lugar,
Grassley, Harkin, Craig and Conrad... then Representatives Stenholm, Pomeroy,
Walden and Simpson."
 
                                 

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