So we welcome everyone here, and this session in Montana is the last of eleven sessions that are being held around the United States as we prepare for the next round of negotiations and discussions in regard to trade. I'd like to also extend our appreciation to our surrounding states in our region. I met with them at a trade accord meeting last week and these include Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah are also providing testimony and input in regard to the future of trade in the United States and in the world.

Thank you, especially, to the USDR, USDA, and USTR for their willingness to hold these sessions, for their commitment to work with the states and with the citizens from all of our states and from this nation to provide input and provide guidance and direction, as we have a citizen government in the United States and I think this is a very important process for us all to have that kind of input as we move forward with trade issues.

At this time, I would like to talk about and introduce our panel members. Jim Schroeder is to my left. Jim serves as the Deputy Undersecretary for Farm and Agriculture Services. He is principally concerned with international trade and development services and programs. Before joining the USDA, he was a practicing lawyer in Washington D.C., specializing in international trade, commerce, and administrative law matters. Mr. Schroeder graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Public Affairs at Princeton University. He served on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy, and received his law degree from Harvard School of Law. He was born in Illinois and spent many summers on his family farm in down state Illinois. He is married to former congresswoman Pat Schroeder, and they have one son Scott and one daughter Jami.

Also, to my right, is Tim Galvin. Tim was named Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Services on January 28th of this year. In his position, Tim is responsible for supporting FAS, Foreign Agriculture Services, and carrying out an array of export promotion, trade policy, and development functions that fall under the agency's jurisdiction. Montana has worked very closely with Foreign Agriculture Services in the past and we'll continue to do that in the future, and we've had a lot of success in helping businesses in our state. Tim has served as the Secretary Special Assistant on trade issues since October of 1998. Prior to that, he served as the Associate Administrator for FAS from 1994 until 1998. Until his appointment as Associate Administrator, Tim was Legislative Assistant to US Senator Bob Kerry and was responsible for agriculture and trade issues. So you can see his background is extensive in trade. He has worked as a staff member of the house committee on agriculture. Prior to that, he was director of the house subcommittee on foreign agriculture, research, and department operations. Tim is a native of Sioux City, Iowa, he graduated from George Washington University of Public and International Affairs of Washington D.C. and received his masters from Georgetown University School of Business. Tim and his wife and children reside in Arlington, Virginia. Thank you for being here.

Sharon Lauritsen is with us. Sharon is the Director of Agricultural Affairs and she is at the office of U.S. Trade Representative, USTR, Washington, D.C. She is responsible for a wide range of agriculture issues, including trade with Canada, the North American Free Trade Agreement committee on agriculture, and she is coordinating agriculture policies in the new round of multilateral negotiations of the World Trade Organizatin. We've worked with Sharon extensively over the last year as we've dealt with trade issues in Montana and with western states in regard to our neighbors to the north.

Prior to joining the USTR, Sharon was Associate Administrator for the fruit and vegetable programs with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service. She managed a variety of fruit and vegetable marketing services including marketing new programs, marketing orders, research and promotion programs, and served as the agency's international trade policy advisor. In previous positions, Sharon was the director of government relations for the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association and served as a staff member of Congress.

Susan Garros at the end of the table, Economic and Commercial Officer Agriculture Trade Policy Division of the Economic and Business Bureau of the State Department. We are very pleased to have the State Department with us today. Susan has been an economic and commercial officer in Agriculture Trade Policy Division of the State Department's Economic and Business Bureau since 1997. Her responsibilities include food aid and trade issues in Latin America and Canada, and sanitary and phytosanitary issues. As you know, those have been major concerns we've dealt with in Montana over the last year.

Susan joined the Foreign Service in 1991, her previous assignments included the US embassies in Mexico and Brazil. Before joining the State Department, she worked at the US Agriculture, United States Information Agency, and the National Archives, and taught English as a foreign language in Mexico. She holds a BA degree in History and an MA in International Relations from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. She's a native of Washington, D.C.

So you can see the panel that we have before you has been highly involved in trade issues, and not just trade issues, but agriculture trade issues. And their career and history and experience is vital as we continue to have strength for agriculture trade as we go through the next round of WTO.

At this time, it is my on honor and privilege to introduce a special friend of mine and our Lieutenant Governor of Montana Judy Martz. Judy is a fourth-generation Montanan, born in Big Timber, Montana to ranching parents. She lived most of her life in the Butte area, and was elected Montana's first female Lieutenant Governor in November of 1996. With her agriculture background, Judy sees small business retention and development, economic growth, and Montana's youth as her immediate priorities in the Racicot Martz Administration.

Judy's diverse background is reflected in her past goals and personal achievements. She was crowned Ms. Rodeo Montana in 1963. I don't know if I should use that date, Judy. That same year she represented the United States in Japan as a member of the US World Speed Skating team, and again in 1964 as a member of the US Olympic team. It's been an honor and a privilege to continue to work with Judy as we work on agricultural issues. And at this time, I extend a warm welcome to you and if we could receive your testimony at this point.

MS. MARTZ: Thank you, Ralph. And I would like to, on behalf of the Governor and myself, thank you all for coming to Montana to listen. Montana is pleased to work with you, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Trade Representative Office, and the Trade Research Center. And we thank you for hosting this listening session today.

Some very important agriculture trade issues will be discussed here today, and it is critical that each of us actively participate in defining the future of the global marketplace. Trade issues affect everyone whether directly or indirectly. US agriculture is increasingly dependent upon exports. We need to ensure that existing markets remain open and that we gain equal access to international markets.

Recently, leaders in the European Union and Latin America launched negotiations on the formation of a free trade zone. It is crucial for the United States to continue to form and improve similar partnerships while setting the stage for export strategies. The western states play an important role in that total US agriculture production. Exports are essential, not only for the agriculture industry, but for this nation's future for each of the states' individual economies.

Our farmers, ranchers, food processors, and business leaders, if they're going to compete successfully for export opportunities, it is imperative to have fair and equal access to all foreign markets. Montana has stepped forward to accomplish just that with our neighbors to the north. Montana and Alberta, a province of Canada, recently held an agriculture opportunities conference to discuss trade barriers and, as importantly, opportunities that exist when these issues are resolved. Producers on both sides of the border agree that the harmonization of the agriculture rules and regulations are a necessity if we want to develop solid trade relationships.

Grading, inspection, production inputs, health protocols, and financial services are all the needs that we have to be addressed in decreasing trade restrictions. There is an increased opportunity for pilot projects that could develop in order to test market access. The Northwest Pilot Project on livestock has demonstrated how state and national organizations can work together successfully to achieve mutual goals. We must continue to form these partnerships, but we need to be aggressive and we need the aggressive support from the Federal Government to ensure the success of these programs. Government and industry leaders need to build a support structure for producers in the continuing process to open.

We have to have open, honest education for our citizens. Every effort should be made at all levels to increase the availability of accurate and complete comparison data between countries. I urge you to work with others in our Federal Government to help alleviate misconceptions and to ensure, through your World Trade Organizatin negotiations, that accurate information from other countries is available.

I appreciate this opportunity to voice these issues to you, and I hope that our panel members will relay the message appropriately to the ministerial conference in Seattle. Agriculture is the number one industry of Montana, and it is extremely important that we make it a number one priority in the rest of the world. Thank you for this opportunity, and, again, thank you for being here this morning.