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“U.S.-MEXICO POULTRY TRADE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E473 on March 28, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
U.S.-MEXICO POULTRY TRADE
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HON. RICHARD W. POMBO
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 28, 2001
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the House's attention to one of the agricultural success stories of the last decade. I refer to this nation's poultry trade with Mexico, a trade that has benefited both nations tremendously and that today finds itself charting new paths for the future.
Mexico in the late 1980s emerged as an important new market for U.S. poultry products. Mexican meat processors began buying large quantities of turkey and chicken cuts, including mechanically de-boned meat, from the United States. Much of this poultry meat was used to make the sausage, hot dogs, bologna and turkey ham products demanded by Mexican consumers.
There was for a time a concern that NAFTA might slow this progress. The agreement was written in the infancy of the U.S.-Mexican poultry trade, and NAFTA's authors did not foresee the explosion in Mexican demand for U.S. poultry. The agreement set a quota for duty-free poultry exports to Mexico that was far too small and set the over-quota tariff at a staggering initial rate of 269 percent. In fact, that over-
quota tariff does not drop below 49.4 percent until it ultimately is removed in 2002.
Fortunately, the fears raised by NAFTA were not realized. The Mexican government has recognized the demand for poultry and has allowed a much higher level of duty free poultry imports than NAFTA requires. The results of this policy have been spectacular--and the primary beneficiary has been the Mexican economy and the Mexican people.
Mexico's processed meat industry has doubled during the last five years and now creates jobs--directly or indirectly--for 290,000 people. Annual sales of processed meat, including processed poultry products, have reached $1.3 billion annually and are climbing. The consumption of meat protein products in Mexico has increased significantly, and the cost to Mexican consumers has been kept low.
Obviously, this has made the Mexican market a critical one for the U.S. poultry industry. Mexico now purchases about 10 percent of all U.S. poultry, and is the third largest export market for American poultry. For the turkey industry, the market is even more significant. Mexico is by far the biggest purchaser of U.S. turkey, consuming almost 10 percent of all the turkey produced in the United States and accounting for 55 percent of all our turkey exports.
Mr. Speaker, this success story needs to be continued. Mexico is undergoing historic political changes, and indications so far are that the Fox administration is continuing to maintain a positive policy toward poultry imports. However, there is certain to be continued pressure on the new government from some who want to eliminate competition in the market for processed meat.
Mexico's meat processors cannot meet their consumers' needs or price expectations without continuing waivers on the NAFTA quotas for U.S. poultry products. The Mexican government has understood this for the last seven years, and they are to be commended for putting the broader needs of their nation's consumers and the entire economy ahead of parochial political considerations. Also, our Agriculture Department and the Office of the Trade Representative are to be congratulated for the time and attention they devote to ensuring fair and open trade between our two countries.
The U.S. and Mexican poultry and meat processing industries recognize the importance of continuing this trade relationship. The two industries are signing an agreement pledging to work with their respective governments for a policy of open and unrestricted trade of poultry products.
As we wait for that goal to become a reality, we want to express our appreciation for the hard work of the Mexican government and our own trade officials for the accomplishments to this point in promoting prosperous poultry trade between our two countries.
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