This is a listening session so I want to spend most of my time today hearing from the producers and industry representatives, but let me begin with some very brief remarks on the principles of our agricultural trade policies, the administration's view of the need for new trade negotiating round and the major agricultural (inaudible) is addressed.

To begin with I think quite basically our agriculture trade policies rest on a few basic principles, opportunity, fairness and respect for science. American farmers are the world's most highly competitive and technically advanced and because of this have produced far more than we can even eat. That means we have the opportunity to export to 96 percent of consumers that live beyond our borders. With 25 percent total farm receipts from agricultural exports we are and will be in the future increasingly relying on exports to remain profitable at home. Through the World Trade Organization we have created a set of international principles to insure open markets and fair trade for American producers.

The WTO represents 50 years of bipartisan American leadership and creation of international trading system that breaks down foreign trade barriers and promotes rule of law. It has helped to raise incomes, create jobs and promote American values of fair play and the rule of law (inaudible). We brought agriculture into the trading system in 1995. Results have been very positive. The talks which created the WTO, tariffs and foreign subsidies. We have also one consensus that health and food safety standards should be based strictly on science and concern of public health rather than serve as a disguise for barriers to imports. At the same time we created strong enforcement mechanism that makes sure our trade partners live up to their commitments and we have been most active (inaudible.)

We have succeeded in 20 or the 22 cases that we have brought to (inaudible) WTO and 90 of these nearly half have addressed agricultural commodities from food sales to Japan, pork in the Philippines, dairy in Canada and, of course, those with respect to the European (inaudible). We have found more opportunities also for the series bilateral and regional agreements. For example, almonds in Israel, beef in Korea, grain in Canada, pork and poultry Philippines, apples in Japan and more.

The most recent example, which is especially important to all of us here and in fact in agriculture in the entire country, is the bilateral sanitary and phytosanitary agreement that we reached with China in April. This agreement was made possible by the WTO sanitary and phytosanitary (inaudible) in 1995. This agreement that we have with China has already lifted China gain on citrus products, wheat and other grain from the Pacific Northwest and meat and poultry to all of USDA plants. When combining cuts in a wide range of China's tariffs agricultural products after China joins the WTO substantial increases in (inaudible) wheat and corn and the elimination of soybean oil and sunflower seed oil quotas. We expect to see significant increases in U.S. exports to China. We believe that this agreement last year with China was a significant one and very good for U.S. agriculture. With that said our work is far from done. There remain numerous trade barriers and unsafe trade practices overseas. We see a very disturbing pattern in Europe for disregard of scientific standards of biotechnology which presents an increasing threat to American agriculture exports.

We are looking to build on the achievements of the Uruguay Round in another round of trade negotiations which will begin when the United States hosts and chairs the WTO conference in Seattle which will start in November. We expect the round itself, or I should say, we hope the round itself will take far less time to conclude than the Uruguay Round did perhaps in a time frame and will address a number of issues around agriculture. But there is no question that agriculture will be the (inaudible) agenda when the talks begin in Seattle. As Vice-president Gore said, our economy depends on fully productive, competitive agriculture and the round is our single biggest opportunity for trade policy to expand American agriculture access to foreign markets. So as we get ready for Seattle in the months ahead, we have been and we will be setting a very specific agenda. Broadly speaking, we expect to address issues such as reducing tariffs and other barriers for product overseas, (inaudible) fair trade by eliminating foreign export subsidies and reducing trade domestic supports in sharing experience and fairness of trading, helping to guarantee the farmers and ranchers can use safe, modern technology through biotechnology without fear of trade discrimination and showing that American producers have the right to effective remedies in dumping subsidies and (inaudible).

As we prepare for this work we are consulting with American industries and Congress and with our trade partners to set specific agendas. We also need the advice from producers and others in agriculture on a specific agenda. And that's why we're here today is the best way to find out is simply to just ask. We are here to listen to you as producers and experts and people involved in the industry. We want to hear your priorities and understand you personally and the problems you see in international trade and agree on the major opportunities we should expect to realize. I want to thank all of you for coming to help us with your thoughts and advice today and again, let me thank Commissioner Wheeler for hosting us and for all the work that his staff has done in organizing this session. Thank you very much.