[As Amended by House Committee of the Whole]
         
[As Further Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole]
         
As Amended by Senate Committee
          
Session of 1999
         
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1605
         
By Committee on Agriculture
         
1-13
         
12             A  CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION urging Congress to remove or re-
13             strict the use of trade sanctions as they apply to agricultural products
14             and to work for the reduction or elimination of trade barriers
15             and sanctions imposed by other countries against agricultural
16             products [and urging Congress to pass laws that prohibit dis-
17             criminatory pricing, require mandatory price reporting by
18             packers, prohibit retaliation against a producer by a packer and
19             require country of origin labeling on foreign beef and pork
20             raised and produced in other countries].
21      
22             WHEREAS,  the export of agricultural commodities has provided the
23       United States the only positive return on its balance of trade; and
24             WHEREAS,  the only way to insure that a positive return on the bal-
25       ance of trade continues is to allow international markets to remain open;
26       and
27             WHEREAS,  the use of unilateral economic sanctions rarely achieve
28       its goal, but cause substantial harm to the producers of products; and
29             WHEREAS,  not only do the sanctions imposed by the United
30       States cause great harm to the Kansas farmer, but so do the unfair
31       trade barriers and sanctions imposed on agricultural products by
32       other countries; and
33             WHEREAS,  the storage of grain on the ground in Kansas is just one
34       example of the adverse affects sanctions have on agricultural products;
35       and
36        [WHEREAS, Market concentration in the beef and pork packing
37       industry has reached unprecedented proportions; and
38             [WHEREAS, The lack of competition in the meat packing in-
39       dustry has resulted in historically low beef and pork prices for
40       producers and historically high prices for consumer; and
41             [WHEREAS, The national pork producers council has testified

SCR 1605--Am. by HCW

2

  1       before the United States Congress as to the need for mandatory
  2       price reporting by packers; and
  3             [WHEREAS, The national cattleman's beef association has
  4       passed a resolution in support of mandatory price reporting; and
  5             [WHEREAS, Foreign beef and pork products are not raised or
  6       produced under the same regulatory standards to insure consumer
  7       health and safety as beef and pork raised and produced in the
  8       United States; and]
  9             WHEREAS,  economic sanctions hinder the export of agricultural
10       products, exacerbating the transportation of such products and possibly
11       lowering the price received by the Kansas farmer for such agricultural
12       products: Now, therefore,
13             Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Kansas, the House of Rep-
14       resentatives concurring therein: That Congress remove or restrict the
15       use of trade sanctions as they apply to agricultural products and that
16       Congress insures that the use of trade sanctions will result in meaningful
17       results; and
18             Be it further resolved: That Congress work for the reduction and
19       elimination of trade barriers and sanctions imposed by other coun-
20       tries against agricultural products; and
21             [Be it further resolved: That Congress pass laws that prohibit dis-
22       criminatory pricing by packers, require mandatory price reporting
23       by packers and prohibit retaliation against a producer by a packer;
24       and
25             [Be it further resolved: That Congress pass laws that require coun-
26       try of origin labeling on foreign beef and pork products raised and
27       produced in other countries as currently required for beef and
28       pork raised in the United States; and]
29             Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send
30       enrolled copies of this resolution to the President of the United States,
31       President [the Vice-President of the United States], Majority Leader
32       and Minority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker, Major-
33       ity Leader and Minority Leader of the United States House of Rep-
34       resentatives, the secretary of the United States Department of State, the
35       Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture[, the At-
36       torney General of the United States] and to each member of the
37       Kansas Congressional Delegation.
38