Apple industry hails narrowly approved CAFTA
Apple industry hails narrowly approved CAFTA
WASHINGTON The U.S. apple industry said that President Bush signed the landmark Central America Free Trade Agreement just in time to create a duty-free market for a bumper crop of fall-harvested apples.
The vote in the U.S. House of Representatives matched every prediction that it would be a close one, passing 217-215 in the early hours of July 28. The Senate passed it last month by a 54-45 margin.
As President Bush signed the bill Aug. 2, he said that the ramifications reached beyond trade. "CAFTA is more than a trade bill it is a commitment among freedom-loving nations to advance peace and prosperity throughout the region."
Under the agreement, duty- and quota-free access to the six countries Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua would be phased-in.
The export market currently represents about 25 percent of the fresh-market apples in the United States, said U.S. Apple Association Chairman Jeff Crist, an apple grower from Walden, NY. We are expecting an exceptional crop this year, and it will be important to maximize all available marketing options.
Central America is already the number one export market for apples from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia, and is a strong market for California, Washington and New York, said the group. The apple industry has set up the infrastructure for marketing U.S. apples, but the industry has had to compete with foreign producers, such as Chile, that already have duty-free access.
It is gratifying to see the congressional support needed to push this market to the next level, said Nancy Foster, president of the U.S. Apple Association.
The Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association backed CAFTA. PMA's Kathy Means said that produce is already coming here duty-free, making it important to level the playing field for U.S. exporters.
Voicing support for CAFTA was one of the issues that Western Growers Association President and CEO Tom Nassif discussed at a recent private meeting with White House economic and domestic policy advisors. Mr. Nassif offered the groups first official support for the trade agreement, along with discussions on immigration reform, at the special meeting with top White House officials.
The American Farm Bureau Federation said that the new trade pact would translate into profits for U.S. agriculture. Producing nearly $1.5 billion per year at full implementation in agricultural exports to the CAFTA-DR region, this agreement provides significant opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers, said AFBF President Bob Stallman.
Sectors of the food industry praised Congress and the presidents persistence in ensuring the trade agreements passage. CAFTA provides new market opportunities for processed foods and beverages, said the Food Products Association. It also establishes a forum for addressing technical and sanitary concerns, which will help ensure the safety of food products in international trade.
C. Manly Molpus, head of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, said that some food products such as cheese and yogurt have faced tariffs in excess of 60 percent. With the elimination of these onerous tariffs, food companies will be able to increase their exports to the CAFTA-DR region by as much as 84 percent, said GMA. Companies will also save $8.8 million from tariff reductions and quota expansions in the first year of the agreement savings that will increase to $28 million annually when it is fully implemented.
Others, including the sugar and organized labor groups, issued stern warnings that it would damage fragile U.S. industries. National Farmers Union President Dave Frederickson said that CAFTA represented a continuation of failed trade policies of the past, which are encouraging a race to the bottom for producer prices.
CAFTA trades away American producers ability to compete fairly in a global economy. It forces them to compete with producers from countries which have a cost-of-production advantage over the United States, he said.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have ratified the agreement, but the legislatures of the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have yet to act. The agreement will go into effect in January for those countries that have ratified it.
The vote in the U.S. House of Representatives matched every prediction that it would be a close one, passing 217-215 in the early hours of July 28. The Senate passed it last month by a 54-45 margin.
As President Bush signed the bill Aug. 2, he said that the ramifications reached beyond trade. "CAFTA is more than a trade bill it is a commitment among freedom-loving nations to advance peace and prosperity throughout the region."
Under the agreement, duty- and quota-free access to the six countries Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua would be phased-in.
The export market currently represents about 25 percent of the fresh-market apples in the United States, said U.S. Apple Association Chairman Jeff Crist, an apple grower from Walden, NY. We are expecting an exceptional crop this year, and it will be important to maximize all available marketing options.
Central America is already the number one export market for apples from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia, and is a strong market for California, Washington and New York, said the group. The apple industry has set up the infrastructure for marketing U.S. apples, but the industry has had to compete with foreign producers, such as Chile, that already have duty-free access.
It is gratifying to see the congressional support needed to push this market to the next level, said Nancy Foster, president of the U.S. Apple Association.
The Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association backed CAFTA. PMA's Kathy Means said that produce is already coming here duty-free, making it important to level the playing field for U.S. exporters.
Voicing support for CAFTA was one of the issues that Western Growers Association President and CEO Tom Nassif discussed at a recent private meeting with White House economic and domestic policy advisors. Mr. Nassif offered the groups first official support for the trade agreement, along with discussions on immigration reform, at the special meeting with top White House officials.
The American Farm Bureau Federation said that the new trade pact would translate into profits for U.S. agriculture. Producing nearly $1.5 billion per year at full implementation in agricultural exports to the CAFTA-DR region, this agreement provides significant opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers, said AFBF President Bob Stallman.
Sectors of the food industry praised Congress and the presidents persistence in ensuring the trade agreements passage. CAFTA provides new market opportunities for processed foods and beverages, said the Food Products Association. It also establishes a forum for addressing technical and sanitary concerns, which will help ensure the safety of food products in international trade.
C. Manly Molpus, head of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, said that some food products such as cheese and yogurt have faced tariffs in excess of 60 percent. With the elimination of these onerous tariffs, food companies will be able to increase their exports to the CAFTA-DR region by as much as 84 percent, said GMA. Companies will also save $8.8 million from tariff reductions and quota expansions in the first year of the agreement savings that will increase to $28 million annually when it is fully implemented.
Others, including the sugar and organized labor groups, issued stern warnings that it would damage fragile U.S. industries. National Farmers Union President Dave Frederickson said that CAFTA represented a continuation of failed trade policies of the past, which are encouraging a race to the bottom for producer prices.
CAFTA trades away American producers ability to compete fairly in a global economy. It forces them to compete with producers from countries which have a cost-of-production advantage over the United States, he said.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have ratified the agreement, but the legislatures of the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have yet to act. The agreement will go into effect in January for those countries that have ratified it.
