Slowdown Of Canadian Trucks
Finally Prods Ag Trade Talks

TORONTO —(AP)— Trade officials from the United States and Canada are planning a series of meetings in the coming weeks to resolve a dispute over agriculture exports.

Agreement on a work plan was reached last Thursday during a closed-door meeting in Montreal. The talks had an element of urgency to them because cross-border tensions had been heightened recently by delays and tough inspections of Canadian livestock and grain shipments in the Dakotas and other Western states.

Jay Ziegler, a spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, said Friday the two sides held "very detailed and open discussions" about the contentious issues and agreed to meet again as early as this week.

No exact date was set, he said.

Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Tom Daschle, D-S.D., on Friday urged President Clinton to set a 60-day deadline for results from the trade talks.

"Frankly, consultations have been ongoing for two years with Canada with no results at all," Dorgan said.

To get this round of talks started, state governors agreed to stop the delays of Canadian livestock shipments, while Canada dropped complaints it filed with international trade organizations over the slowdown.

Many American producers contend that Canadian exports have unfairly cut into their markets. Some congressmen from Western states have urged the U.S. government to impose quotas on Canadian cattle and grain.

Govs. Bill Janklow of South Dakota and Ed Schafer of North Dakota were to meet with Montana Gov. Marc Racicot this week in Helena, Mont., to develop strategies for insuring that U.S. trade talks with Canada are responsive to their states' interests.

"We're going to make sure that our trade and agricultural officials don't drop the ball," Schafer said in a release. "Secretary (of Agriculture Dan) Glickman has assured the governors that they will have a role in the talks, and we intend to play an important part. Our ranchers and farmers will get the attention they deserve."

Meanwhile, a U.S. economist is downplaying the impact of Canadian imports on U.S. markets, potentially undercutting the trade talk effort.

While farm imports from Canada are rising, it's a worldwide glut of grain and American overproduction of livestock that are doing the most damage to producers, the economist says.

"U.S. producers are certainly affected by imports of Canadian agricultural products, but other factors appear to be far more important in explaining the current weakness in U.S. markets," said Patrick Westhoff, a trade expert with the Food and Agricultural Policy Institute, a consortium of farm economists that advises Congress.

Westhoff, testifying before a House Agriculture subcommittee Thursday, acknowledged that the impact of Canadian imports may be more acute in northern states than elsewhere.

Imports of Canadian farm commodities jumped from $4.6 billion in 1993 to $7.4 billion last year, partly because of a steep drop in the value of the Canadian dollar.

"Farmers in our area are extremely scared and frustrated," Alan Lee, a Berthold, N.D., farmer told the House Agriculture subcommittee.

U.S. farm income is expected to drop 16 percent this year because of a steep drop in prices for grain and other commodities.

Wheat prices have fallen $1.86 per bushel over the past two years, because of a 366 million bushel increase in U.S. production and a 143 million bushel drop in American exports, Westhoff said.

A 22 million bushel increase in U.S. wheat imports, chiefly from Canada, has not helped, but it's "a much smaller factor" than increases in world production and weak demand, he said.

Similarly, a rise in meat supplies is due mostly to overproduction of domestic animals, he contended. Canadian cattle imports account for five percent of the increase in U.S. beef production since 1993.

American producers complain that Canada permits pesticides and pharmaceuticals that they can't legally use and unfairly subsidizes its farmers.

A battle over Canadian wheat sales has been going on for nearly a decade. Canada denies that it is selling wheat at below cost but has refused to disclose its pricing policy.

"This is not going away. We are past the point of tolerance at the level of Canadian imports," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.

In a written statement, South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow told the subcommittee that he was frustrated that federal officials had not taken action sooner.

They only became interested after Canadian officials complained about the inspections in South Dakota and other states of Canadian livestock and grain traveling into the country, he said.

The subcommittee's chairman, Nebraska Republican Bill Barrett, said the negotiations must produce "some concrete results."