U.S. Farmers See Dangers In Curbs

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30405, 2 April 1964, Page 13

U.S. Farmers See Dangers In Curbs

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—CopyrtgM)

WASHINGTON, March 31.

A major United States farm organisation today opposed moves by Congress to curb imports of frozen beef and other meats, warning that it could start a trade war.

The warning was sounded by the National Grange, a nation-wide farm group, as the Senate finance committee resumed hearings on a bill which would sharply reduce beef and meat imports below levels recently negotiated in trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

A representative of the National Grange, Mr Harry Graham, told the committee that a trade war might cost the United States its present 5000 m dollars from annual farm exports. “We do not believe this hasty action is for the best interests of either the cattle industry or agriculture as a whole,” he said in commenting on the bill sponsored by the leader of the Democratic majority, Senator Mike Mansfield. “American agriculture and the American economy

has a great deal more to lose than it has to gain.” The position of the National Grange differed sharply from that of cattle and livestock associations which, earlier in the hearings, urged Congress to place sharp restrictions on the re-cently-expanding shipments of foreign meats to the American market The president of the Georgia Livestock Association (Mr R. B. Curtis) urged curtailment or elimination of the foreign meat imports and blamed them for heavy losses of cattle producers and feeders last year. “We need relief now,” Mr Curtis declared. Asked by Senator Herman Talmadge (Democrat Georgia) if this might not bring retaliation against American farm exports to the European Common Market Mr Curtis replied: “The Common Market already is fencing us out”