NCBA, Ag Groups Express Opposition to FTA with Australia

Washington, D.C. (September 13, 2002) - The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), along with a broad coalition of other agricultural organizations, signed a letter today to U.S. trade officials vehemently opposing a bi-lateral free trade agreement with Australia. 

The letter to U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Zoellick and USDA Secretary Ann Veneman states, “U.S.-Australian agricultural trade is highly unbalanced in favor of Australia, and involves a number of complex and sensitive commodity issues which can only be effectively addressed in the WTO negotiations.” 

NCBA has been very vocal in their opposition to trade policies that restrict access to U.S. beef.  In a related event earlier this week, Iowa Cattleman and NCBA President Wythe Willey testified before the Interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee on trade negotiations and elimination of trade barriers in the Western Hemisphere.  Willey testified, “Political considerations dictate that we can only support initiatives conducted on a parallel track with multilateral WTO negotiations that gain more access than we give.” 

The letter to Zoellick and Veneman affirms, “The WTO agricultural negotiations are of the utmost importance to the U.S. agricultural community; it is only in the multilateral forum that we can achieve the fundamental reform of those government policies and practices that have so greatly distorted world agricultural markets and denied access to U.S. farmers and exporters.” 

In pursuit of a U.S./Australian FTA, high level Australian officials met with NCBA President Wythe Willey on Tuesday.