GLOBAL FARM REFORM TOP U.S. PRIORITY - SHULTZ
Dismantling agricultural subsidies
and implementing international farm policy reform will be the
top priorities of the United States at the upcoming Venice
Economic Summit, Secretary of State George Shultz told a group
of American farm leaders.
    "We want to see the American farmer put in a position in
which he can compete on a level playing field," Shultz told the
board of directors for the National Association of Wheat
Growers.
    The global agricultural situation is in the midst of the
most serious farm crisis in modern history, Shultz said, and
how the U.S. responds to the current problems will determine
whether the U.S. will continue its leadership role in world
agriculture.
    Government policies that subsidize production and exports
have created a "crisis of overproduction," he said. Shultz
particularly criticized European Community policies which he
said encourage domestic production by providing high government
supports to farmers and then exporting the surplus product with
the help of huge subsidies.
    The U.S. and its trading partners cannot afford to continue
current high levels of subsidies, he said. But the U.S. cannot
stop subsidies alone, Shultz said. "We have to agree to
dismantle these systems together," he said.
    The U.S., EC and Japan have the obligation to take the lead
in agricultural reform, he said. For that reason, U.S.
officials will push for farm reform at the Venice meeting and
have made it a top priority for GATT negotiations in Geneva.
 Reuter
