U.S. Imports Offer

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32233, 27 February 1970, Page 13

U.S. Imports Offer

(N.Z P X -Reuter—Copyright) GENEVA, February 26. Mr Carl Gilbert. President Nixon’s special representative for trade, offered to withdraw import quotas on some agricultural products if other countries agreed to control excess food supplies by cutting price supports or restraining farm output Mr Gilbert told the General I Agreement on Tariffs and: Trade that the United States was considering amending a 1955 G.A.T.T. decision permitting import restrictions on a series of farm products, but: added that it did not intend to proceed alone. Under the proposed amendment quotas would be permitted only for the few commodities for which a waiver was required.

Mr Gilbert said that countries using levies and other devices to protect their domestic price programmes would be expected by the United States to couple these with production controls, or to re,duce their price support I levels. Illegal import quotas should be removed, and some way had to be found to curb the i extravagant use of export subsidies, he said. The United States would also suggest that G.A.T.T. . members which were both , producers and net importers of farm products consider a I reduction in price support levels, especially for grain, to- . wards world price levels. Farm incomes could then • be supplemented where it i was deemed necessary by i direct payments.