Veto of beef import bill

Press, 14 November 1978, Page 20

Veto of beef import bill

President Carter’s veto of the bill establishing a formula to restrict imports of beef into the United States will benefit New Zealand. The legislation originated in cattle-producing states and was aimed to protect the domestic beef market. New Zealand and Australia would have been the countries most affected. Domestic agricultural producers will inevitably be at odds with such agricultural exporters as New Zealand and the reports that further legislation may be forthcoming can cause no surprise.

The President’s objections to the bill are not the same as New Zealand’s and he has apparently agreed to accept some formula limiting beef imports to times of low production in the United States. What the eventual form of the legislation will be, remains to be seen. New’ Zealand will have to continue to fight against being treated as a residual supplier of the American

market. Cattle do not grow overnight and the scale of production in New Zealand and the choices open for other products demand that we have a planned output.

Hope may be taken from the fact that President Carter wants to reserve the right to increase imports to help control inflation. This probably means that he will seek fairly high ceilings for such imports as are permitted. Secure access within such limits might be possible; and it is this security that means much to New Zealand.

The effects of new or revived legislation before a new session o f Congress would take a long time to gauge. In the meantime, sight should not be lost of the fact that New Zealand’s present problem is not to adjust to American requirements but to increase production and to diversify the dairy' products it can offer to the American and other markets.