In testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee
and House
Ways and Means Committee on June 15, 2004, WORC said the AUSFTA
threatens family farming and ranching, concentrates market power,
and was the result of an undemocratic process. "The U.S.-Australia
Free Trade Agreement is anything but free for America's ranchers
and rural communities," said Reed Kelley, a rancher from
Meeker, Colo., and WORC's chair. "In fact, it will cost these
communities greatly. The loss of U.S. domestic markets due to
increased beef imports will result in lost income for ranchers."
The treaty process limits participation by the people
most affected by the trade agreement. "When ranchers are
driven out of business, the
communities they support also suffer," Kelley said. "This
trade agreement, in short, will outsource ranchers to Australia
and eliminate jobs for workers reliant on the American ranching
economy."
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick signed
the AUSFTA on May 18, 2004 on behalf of President Bush and fast-tracked
it through Congress. WORC, NFFC, and the Citizens Trade Campaign
voiced strong opposition to the agreement as it will either end
or phase out tariffs for many Australian agricultural products,
including beef, lamb, sheep, wool, wheat, and dairy products.
For more information, contact Jeri Lynn at 701-376-7077, or jerilynn@worc.org.
Read
the full WORC press release on AUSFTA
Learn about the NFFC's Australia Free Trade
Agreement Concerns
