AFI Agriculture and International Trade Committee: NCSL 2000 Annual Meeting Summary

AFI Agriculture & International Trade Committee
July 15-20, 2000
NCSL Annual Meeting Summary

The NCSL Annual Meeting was held from July 15-20, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois. The Agriculture and International Trade committee kicked off the meeting July 15 with a special program at the world-famous Shedd Aquarium on invasive species. The committee then held a series of meetings on topics ranging from industrial hemp to agricultural trade with Latin America during the week. Members adopted a new policy supporting dissolution of the U.S. embargo on food products and medicine to Cuba. The committee also adopted an updated version of existing policy on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Copies of all of the policies and handouts are available from Dave Naftzger or Steve Smith at 202-624-5400. Information is also available on the committee's home page.

Ants to Zebra Mussels: The A to Z on Invasive Species
Joint Program with the NCSL Environment Committee

Presiding:	Senator Beverly Gard, Indiana, NCSL Environment Committee Chair
Speakers:	Pat Charlebois, Exotic Species Specialist, Illinois Natural History Survey; Roger Klocek, Director of Conservation, Shedd Aquarium; Dave Thomas, Director, Illinois Natural History Survey
Handouts:	The U.S. Department of Agriculture War on Invasive Species; U.S. Department of Agriculture Fact Sheet: Invasive Species

During this session, a panel of experts discussed public and private initiatives to counter threats posed by non-native species. Participants then toured the Shedd Aquarium and saw the thousands of fish and mammals on display.

Agricultural Trade with Latin America: New Opportunities, New Challenges

Presiding:	Senator Paul Muegge, Oklahoma, Vice-Chair, Agriculture and International Trade committee
Speaker:	Bill Glynn, Senior Advisor for the Americas, U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service
Handouts:	Free Trade Area of the Americas: What are the Benefits for U.S. Agriculture?; NAFTA's Impact on U.S. Agriculture: The First Three Years

This session focused on the successes and failures of NAFTA and potential opportunities for U.S. agriculture in the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations.

To Trade or Not to Trade: The Future of Relations with Cuba

Presiding:	Representative Jim Poolman, North Dakota, NCSL Agriculture and International Trade Committee Vice-Chair
Speakers:	Senator Emil Jones, Illinois; Kirby Jones, President, Alamar Associates; Bob Witajewski, Deputy Director, Office of Cuban Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Handouts:	GOP Negotiators Reach Historic Deal on Cuba Sanctions; How Republicans Reached Uneasy Compromise on Cuba

This discussion focused on the potential of the Cuban market for U.S. exporters, the issues prohibiting liberalized trade and the lead role states have played in reevaluating trade relations with Cuba.

Alternative Fuels Roundtable
Joint Session with the AFI Energy and Transportation Committee

Presiding:	Representative Bill Friend, Indiana, NCSL Agriculture and International Trade Committee Vice-Chair
Speakers:	Matthew Brown, Program Director, NCSL; Phil Lampert, National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition; Dena Sue Potestio, Policy Specialist, NCSL

The overall effectiveness of alternative fuel vehicle legislation, the components of effective state incentives promoting their use and the economic significance of alternative fuel crop subsidies to the agriculture industry served as the focus of this session.

This Is Not Your Father's Hemp
Joint Session with the ASI Science, Energy and Environmental Resources Committee

Presiding:	Representative Larry Diedrich, South Dakota, Chair, Agriculture and International Trade committee
Speakers:	Donald Briskin, Professor of Plant Biology, University of Illinois; Ed Moses, Lieutenant, Missouri Highway Patrol; Representative Cynthia Thielen, Hawaii
Handouts:	The DEA Should Get Out of Regulating Hemp Agriculture; Industrial Hemp in the United States: Status and Market Potential

This session highlighted different viewpoints on growing industrial hemp as an agricultural crop.

Farm Bill 2002 and the Future of Freedom to Farm

Presiding:	Representative Bill Friend, Indiana, Vice-Chair, Agriculture and International Trade committee
Speakers:	J. Read Smith, President-Elect, National Association of Conservation Districts; Don Vilwock, Vice-President, Indiana Farm Bureau
Handouts:	Presentation of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) to the National Summit on Private Land Conservation; NACD Guide to Services; Small Farm Digest Spring/Summer 2000

During this session, the speakers and state legislators discussed the future of federal farm policy and NCSL's role in crafting the 2002 farm bill.

Agriculture and International Trade Committee Business Meeting

Presiding:	Representative Larry Diedrich, South Dakota, Chair, Agriculture and International Trade committee
Speakers:	William Waren, Fellow, Harrison Institute of Public Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Handout:	NAFTA Claims Under Chapter 11: A Threat to States?

Members adopted a new policy supporting dissolution of the U.S. embargo on food products and medicine to Cuba. The committee also adopted an updated version of existing policy on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Biotechnology: The Answer to Our Problems or a Whole Set of New Ones?
Concurrent Session

Presiding:	Representative Larry Diedrich, South Dakota, Chair, Agriculture and International Trade committee
Speakers:	Jean Halloran, Consumers Union; Sue Harlander, Biorational Consultants, Inc.; Jim Maryanski, Food and Drug Administration
Handout:	Biotechnology: Implications for U.S. Corn and Soybean Trade

This session explored the science behind biotechnology, the tests to ensure its safety and consumer protection.

Agricultural Forum
Ancillary Session

Discussants:

Carl Everett, U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service
Robert Tse, U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service

During this session, legislators and representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture discussed current and emerging agricultural issues facing states and state legislatures including biotechnology, food quality protection, trade, rural development and drought.

Cultivating a More Diverse Economy in Rural Areas
Concurrent Session

Presiding:	Senator Paul Muegge, Oklahoma, Vice-Chair, Agriculture and International Trade committee
Speakers:	Kelly Carnes, Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, U.S. Department of Commerce; Senator Tony Grindberg, North Dakota; Deborah Markley, Rural Policy Research Institute
Handout:	U.S. Agency for International Development Global Technology Network Information Sheets

This session focused on industries that are compatible with rural economies, such as small manufacturing, tourism and telecommunications-based business, and how these industries can be encouraged through enhanced access to capital and business development services.

The next meeting of the AFI Agriculture and International Trade committee will be December 13-16, 2000 at the NCSL AFI/ASI Joint Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. Please plan to join us!

NCSL staff contacts: David Naftzger, Steve Smith

AFI Agriculture and International Trade Committee

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AFI Agriculture & International Trade Committee July 15-20, 2000 NCSL Annual Meeting Summary

AFI Agriculture & International Trade Committee
July 15-20, 2000
NCSL Annual Meeting Summary