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News from the Minnesota Association of Wheat |
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FORMER AG SECRETARY BERGLAND URGES PETERSON TO SUPPORT CHINA PNTR May 17, 2000 Red Lake Falls, Minn.—
Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Bob Bergland is urging Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) to vote in favor of granting permanent normal trading relations (PNTR) status to China. A four-term Congressman in the
1970s (representing the Seventh District of northwest Minn. as Peterson does now) Bergland served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1977 to 1981 during the Carter Administration. Bergland was
general manager of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association from 1983 to 1993. The Roseau, Minn. native has served on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents since 1997. In a memo to
Peterson on May 15, Bergland said that China is the world's largest emerging economy, and to treat them as inferior to our other more than 140 trading partners in the world could be a costly mistake. "To deny
them permanent normal trading relations is to treat them as a rogue state where we have little or no influence except he use of force," he said. "The granting of PNTR to them as a full and balanced trading partner
means they have to abide by worldwide rules of trading where we have influence and leverage." Many are worried about a possible flood of Chinese imports overwhelming sectors of the U.S. economy, but Bergland points
out that the U.S. suffers from an overwhelming trade deficit with China under the current rules of trade. "One thing China must have is a food supplier they can depend on and we can fill that need," he said. "If
we insist on one-year extensions, as is the current practice, we retain the right to cut off their food supply for whatever reason Congress might choose, a risk China cannot accept. The only way we can enjoy a
major supplier status with them is under the under the world trading rules embodied in the agreement." Bergland said that in 1979, President Carter directed him to undertake a mission to China to explore the
possibilities of opening diplomatic ties. "We negotiated an agreement with the Chinese government, which led to a continuing exchange of agricultural science and the start of a major grain agreement," he said.
"While I found the Chinese to be skilled and shrewd negotiators, an agreement was reached and served as an opening leading to normal diplomatic relations with China. They lived up to the letter and spirit of the
agreement and I have no reason to believe they would cheat on any agreement we enter into with them." Granting PNTR and a revised and improved domestic farm program offers the best long- term solution to our situation
where one planted acre in three is surplus, he said. "Any agreement which can build a reliable export market is in everyone's best interest," Bergland wrote Peterson. "I do hope you will vote for the agreement when it
comes to the House floor later this month."
CHINA PNTR GAINS KEY ENDORSEMENT
The final battle over PNTR is being
waged, as House Ag Committee Chairman Larry Combest (R-TX) repeated a call for the U.S. agricultural community to voice their support ….Finish the article at
PREPPING FOR A MORE OPEN MARKET
Wheat Groups Making Concerted Effort to Pass China PNTR as Vote Nears By Ellen Huber, N.D. Wheat Commission Hedging on a
positive congressional vote, U.S. Wheat Associates is already preparing for increased sales of U.S. wheat to China. Two separate teams of Chinese officials made trade visits to the United States this spring and
USW representatives conducted a whirlwind April tour of Chinese flour milling companies and government agencies. One Chinese team came to learn more about the U.S. systems and policies of grain production, sales,
purchasing and inspection. Another team conducted baking tests and evaluated the performance of U.S. wheat for Chinese teamed bread. USW reps then traveled to China, where they delivered fourteen Presentations
on U.S. wheat quality and purchasing in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Agencies they met with included the China State Grain Administration, China State Grain Reserve Management
Corporation and the central government buying agent, COFCO. They discussed the current contract for 50,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat, which includes 10,000 tons of hard red spring wheat, as well as upcoming wheat
purchases. Paul Dickerson, USW vice president for overseas operations, says, "China is on the cusp of economic and agricultural changes that will benefit both of our countries, and the U.S. wheat industry must be
first in line when that door opens. We have to develop the wheat market now, and the best way we can do that is to meet and exchange information."
NDWC URGES PERMANENT NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS FOR CHINA
NDWC Position Statement China already has access to the U.S. market. Unfortunately, import barriers and high
tariff rates prevent most U.S. interests from effectively competing for a share of China's business. However, now before Congress is an opportunity that would make it possible for American farmers and
manufacturers to do business in the world's largest marketplace. The opportunity is an agreement defining the terms of China's entry into the World Trade Organization, but to reap the benefits of the agreement,
Congress needs to extend Permanent Normal Trade Relations status to China. Approving NTR for China is not new or unique. The United States has already been granting normal trading status to China on an annual
basis. The proposed legislation would simply make the policy permanent for China upon its admission to the WTO. As such, the U.S. would continue to allow China the same market access it has already had,
while China has agreed to slash tariff rates and knock down trade barriers for U.S. wheat, many other agricultural products and manufactured goods. Of specific interest to U.S. wheat producers and as part of its bid
to join the WTO, China has lifted a ban in place for more than a quarter century on imports from U.S. Pacific Northwest ports. The ban had been imposed because of concerns over a wheat fungus known as TCK
(Tilletia Controversa Kuhn). China has now acknowledged that TCK does not pose a significant risk to its domestic wheat production and has agreed to a tolerance level for TCK spores that can easily be met by U.S.
wheat exporters. Being able to sell U.S. hard red spring wheat to China through PNW ports shaves $6 to $10 per ton ($.16 to $.27 per bushel) off freight costs as compared to a U.S. Gulf origin, which previously
was the only option for servicing the Chinese market. Upon its accession to the WTO, China is also committed to: Allowing imports of 7.3 million metric tons (268 million bushels) of wheat to enter at a tariff of 1
percent and to increasing the tariff rate quota to 9.3 million metric tons (342 million bushels) by 2004. Reducing overall agricultural tariffs from the current average of 30 percent, with some as high as 65 percent,
to 17.5 percent by 2004. According to the Wheat Export Trade Education Committee, these tariff levels are, for many products, lower than corresponding tariffs in Japan, Korea and other Asian countries.
Eliminating export subsidies. Operating state-owned and state-invested enterprises on a commercial basis. The Chinese government will not interfere with commercial decisions outside the terms of the WTO agreement.
Failure to approve PNTR for China would slam the door to one-fifth of the world's consumers. It would be the largest trade setback for U.S. farmers since the 1980 grain embargo against the Soviet Union. Farmers in
Canada, Europe, Australia and Latin America would enjoy greater access to the Chinese market while U.S. farmers would again be forced to sit on the sidelines and watch sales go to competitors. Permanent normal trade
relations status and bringing China into the rules-based environment of the WTO are the best ways to assure internal economic and political reforms within China. Trade creates more markets for national products,
allowing expansion at home, more jobs, greater investment and more products at lower prices for consumers through imports. Trade makes countries richer. Rich countries take better care of the environment, workers'
rights and human rights.
RUSSIA'S KASYANOV SAYS FARMING NEEDS REFORM "It's obvious that this most vital sector of the economy needs
serious support," he said in a speech to the State Duma lower house of parliament, meeting to approve his nomination. "We need in the nearest future to unite the efforts of scientists and those with
practical experience of farming to draw up an economic model of agricultural production which can be applied in our country, and to draw up forms of state support." Most farmland in Russia is no longer state
property following privatisation in the mid 1990s. Ownership was then transferred to members of the farms that were being privatised, who received vouchers showing they owned a share in the farm. Russia produced 47.9
million tonnes of grain in 1998 and 54.7 million last year, in both cases less than needed, and has been forced to ask for international food aid to support the population.
HIGHER SOIL NITRATE LEVELS THIS YEAR CAN MEAN SAVINGS FOR FARMERS
"The reports have been coming from crop consultants," says George Rehm, soil scientist with the University of Minnesota
Extension Service. "They have been reporting that the amount of nitrate-nitrogen measured to a depth of two feet is higher than normal. Their reports are based on soil sample analysis by various laboratories, so
laboratory error is not a concern." Rehm says a series of weather conditions that began last fall is the likely explanation for extra nitrate in the soil. Most soil sampling for nitrate measurement takes place in
October and November. In typical years, cold temperatures in these two months stop conversion of organic nitrogen to the nitrate-nitrogen crops can use. Last fall, however, soils were warm into December. The above-
normal temperatures probably speeded up the conversion of organic nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen, thereby producing more nitrate-nitrogen. That pattern was followed by a spring that has been drier than normal. The dry
weather has prevented loss of nitrate-nitrogen through leaching or denitrification. Thus, the loss of nitrate-nitrogen that occurs in more typical years did not occur this year. "This is good news for farmers who
haven't yet applied all their nitrogen and are waiting to sidedress," says Rehm. "Research has shown that recommendations for fertilizer N can be adjusted for the amount of nitrate-nitrogen measured to a depth
of two feet. This means high amounts of nitrate-nitrogen this year translate to lower expenditures for fertilizer N." Rehm recommends that producers test soil for nitrate nitrogen to accurately predict the need
for fertilizer N. A publication is available on how to adjust fertilizer N rates according to the soil test results. The title of the publication is "Using the Soil Nitrate Test in Minnesota," FO-7310. It's
available for purchase from county offices of the University of Minnesota Extension Service. It can also be ordered by credit card by calling (800) 876-8636. Source: George Rehm, (612) 625-6210
APHID CONTROL
APPLY FUNGICIDES Check out the following for more informationApplying Fungicides More Effectively to Control Scabhttp://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/ageng/machine/ae1148w.htm |
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