07/04/05 RCALF visits CAFTA countries

American Rancher July 4, 2005 A delegation of R-CALF USA has been visiting three of the six nations that would be part of the Central American Free Trade Agreement to learn about the potential impact the trade pact may have. The U.S. Senate approved CAFTA late last week and the House may take it up in July. Dennis McDonald of Montana, who chairs R-CALF's International Markets Committee sees an uneven playing field and says U.S. corporations may be planning beef production there for export. McDonald: "We have just learned that some large U.S. corporations have been here in Nicaragua exploring the possibility of building feedlots down here, obviously to capitalize on cheap cattle, cheap input costs, an abundance of corn and a climate, a temperature that is nearly constant year-round." McDonald says the team saw little evidence of a potential market for high-end U.S. beef. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which supports CAFTA, says opponents of the trade pact are making bogus claims. It points out for example, that beef from the affected countries can already come into the U.S. without tariffs and the real threat is the high tariffs U.S. beef faces in these nations which CAFTA will correct. NCBA says U.S. beef and variety meat exports to CAFTA nations could triple by 2015 to 41 million dollars from the current 12.5 million. I'm Bob Hoff.