Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be printed in the Record the concerns of the Summit Agricultural Group regarding three mergers in the agriculture industry. Specifically, this group is concerned with the mergers between Bayer AG and Monsanto, DuPont and Dow Chemical, and China National Chemical Corporation--ChemChina--and Syngenta AG. The paper states that ``the mergers of these international agrochemical and seed giants will significantly reduce competition and innovation in the agricultural sector, and will cause irreparable harm to the American farmer via increased input costs.'' As my colleagues are aware, I have long been concerned about concentration and competition in the agriculture sector. Increased concentration in the industry could significantly reduce choice and raise the price of chemicals and seed for farmers, which ultimately can affect choice and costs for consumers. Moreover, further consolidation could diminish crucial research and development initiatives which drive have innovation and technological advances for the agricultural sector. I have also raised concerns about the competitive advantages that are likely to result from the ChemChina-Syngenta transaction. I have written several letters to both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission expressing my concerns and asking that they carefully review these mergers and collaborate, as appropriate, on their analysis of the impact on the agricultural industry.…”