Max Baucus: “we have heard a lot on the Senate floor the last few days about the advantages to the United States of granting PNTR to…”

“we have heard a lot on the Senate floor the last few days about the advantages to the United States of granting PNTR to China. In commercial terms, PNTR means that American farmers, ranchers, workers, manufacturers, and service providers can take advantage of what will be an unprecedented liberalization in the world's most populous market, and an economy that has grown almost ten percent annually for two decades. PNTR and China's accession to the WTO means that China will enter the global trade community, liberalize and open up much of its economy, and be subject to the operating rules and regulations of the WTO. I would like to focus my remarks on the effect of PNTR on one very important sector of America's economy--agriculture. We are in the third year of a severe agricultural crisis in the United States. Our farmers are suffering terribly from drought, record low prices, increased costs, and now damage due to unprecedented forest fires this summer. At the same time, the American food market is a mature one with almost no room for growth for our farmers and ranchers. Therefore, one part of the solution to the agricultural crisis lies in increasing the quantity and value of our agricultural exports, bringing the products of the world's most efficient farming to the people of the world. That means ensuring that our producers are not besieged by dumped imports. That means our producers need time to adjust to surges in imports.”