New U.S. Farm Bill poses ‘no problems’

Press, 14 October 1985, Page 40

New U.S. Farm Bill poses ‘no problems’

NZPA staff correspondent Washington The House of Representatives’ version of the new United States Farm Bill does not pose any real problems for New Zealand, according to officials in Washington.

“We have come out of it pretty well,” said one trade officer.

The bill passed by the House will cost, according to its estimates, ?USI4I billion ($246.75 billion) over the next five years, most of the money going towards propping up prices paid to farmers and for aid to the poor of America through a food stamp programme. In keeping up that stance the House has thwarted Administration efforts to scale back price support schemes. However, a spokesman for the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr John Block, said it

was a bill “that we can work with in conference and fashion something that is acceptable."

The Senate version of the bill, estimated to be billions of dollars over Budget limits, is expected to be back for debate on October 15. There Republican senators from the hard-hit farm belt out to hold on to their seats in elections next year face an Administration threatening a veto of any Budget-busting legislation. Once the Senate bill is passed, if it is, the two will then be “merged” in a joint House-Senate bargaining session and a final farm bill will emerge that then goes for Presidential approval. So far as New Zealand is concerned the main danger in the House bill concerned casein.

At one stage during the latter stages of the debate in recent weeks there was a

move to bring in quota restrictions on New Zealand casein exports to the United States.

New Zealand is the thief supplier to the United States of casein, a milk product, providing about 50 per cent of the United States imports in a trade worth in excell of $l4O million a. year. That move, by a representative from the dairy state of Wisconsin, was defeated but in return there was a commitment that there will be a study of the effect of New Zealand casein imports oh the dairy trade within 60 days of the bill becoming law. Trade officials point out there have been three major hearings and studies on casein in the past, in 1979, 1981 and 1982, and all three found that imported casein had no implications for the domestic programmes.