Agricultural attachés and U.S. agricultural exports, July-June 1961-62-Continued 1 Includes exports under Public Law 480: title I, sales for foreign currency; title II, disaster relief and economic aid; title III, donations through voluntary relief agencies; title III, barter; title IV, long-term supply and dollar credit sales; and under Public Law 87-195, AID sales for foreign currency and economic aid. 2 Exports "outside Government programs" (sales for dollars) include, in addition to unassisted commercial transactions, shipments of some commodities with governmental assistance in the form of (1) extension of credit for relatively short periods, (2) sales of Government-owned commodities at less than domestic market prices, and (3) export payments in cash or in kind. Source: Trade Statistics and Analysis Branch, Development and Trade Analysis Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. COSTS OF DISCOUNT SALES Mr. MICHEL. You spoke of wheat as a leading example of 58 percent of production going abroad. Mr. IOANES. Yes. Mr. MICHEL. Now, what is the total figure in dollars and cents of subsidy to sell that abroad? Mr. IOANES. I will give you an estimated figure, and then I will correct it in the record if I find I am wrong. I would guess that the cost of that export sale in terms of the difference between domestic price and the world price was in the neighborhood of $350 million. Mr. MICHEL. Now, when that was sold abroad, in computing what our total export sales are, is that figure at the going world price? Mr. IOANES. Yes; it is. Mr. MICHEL. And it is not a fictitious figure? Mr. IOANES. No; the values we show in our exports are the actual export value as opposed to the acquisition cost, for example. Mr. MICHEL. But from the best estimates-and you will supply a specific figure for the record-total wheat exports have had to be subsidized to the extent of $350 million? Mr. IOANES. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. To be able to compete in foreign markets. Mr. HORAN. Is that just 1 year? Mr. MICHEL. In 1 year, yes. Let's take a couple of other products. Let's take soybeans, for example. Mr. IOANES. There is no export payment on soybeans. Mr. MICHEL. How about corn? Mr. IOANES. There hasn't been for the last year and a half. Mr. MICHEL. How about feed grains? Mr. IOANES. No-and Mr. Le Roux will correct me if I am wrongthere has been none. Mr. LEROUX. There has been none, and when there was a subsidy on corn the year before it averaged only about 8 cents a bushel. Mr. MICHEL. And for the total amount of cotton exports have we had to have a subsidy? Mr. IOANES. About 82 cents a pound, I would say a total last year of around $40 a bale, around $180 to $200 million. Mr. MICHEL. That is good on that point. Mr. HORAN. That makes soybeans look good. Mr. MICHEL. It makes our crops look good in dollar sales, is what I am talking about. I think we have pretty well covered the next thing I had in mind, because you speak of exporting a record volume of feed grains to Italy. Mr. IOANES. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. And this was sold at what price? Mr. IOANES. At the domestic market price, which is a competitive world price. Mr. MICHEL. And that would hold true for the feed grains shipments to Japan? Mr. IOANES. Yes, sir. FEED GRAIN AND SOYBEAN EXPORTS Mr. MICHEL. What roughly would be the volume of feed grains that Japan would purchase from the United States? Mr. IOANES. We think that this year Japan will take from us about a million and a half tons of feed grains, and her total imports from all sources would be over 2 million tons. Mr. LEROUX. The total from all sources a year ago was 1.8 million tons, and this year is going to be about 2.7 million, and next year it will be almost 3.5 million tons. They are stepping up very fast. And they are going to take about 100,000 tons of sorghum this year, Mitsui told us, which is far more than they have ever taken before. Mr. MICHEL. How would this reflect itself in dollar volume of sales? Mr. IOANES. I would say a million and a half tons in the United States this year would be worth perhaps $75 million to $80 million. And our total exports of feed grains for the entire year would have a dollar value perhaps of about $750 million to $800 million. Now, I hasten to add, not only feed grains are sold for dollars, but the great bulk of them are. Mr. MICHEL. In soybeans what would that volume be to Japan? Mr. IOANES. TO Japan I would guess around 41 million bushels, which would be at a landed cost, I would think of around $2.60 a bushel, about $107 million. Mr. MICHEL. I recall several years ago when we were over there, I think it was a volume of about $100 million in exports of soybeans to Japan. Mr. IOANES. It could be, only my impression is that we have gotten some gain since that time. LOSSES FROM ATLANTIC COAST SHIPPING TIEUP Mr. MICHEL. You spoke of the recent tieup of shipping in eastern and southern ports. How much of a loss did we suffer from that tieup? Is it possible at all to compute it? Mr. IOANES. No. I can only tell you that our January 1963 exports will probably be under January of 1962 somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million. It would be a mistake to say that all of this is loss, not all of it will be loss. But certainly the poultry we didn't ship in January won't get sold, and some of the feed grains we didn't ship in January won't get sold. We will pick up some of it in later months. But some significant part of that $200 million was lost. Mr. MICHEL. Where would that market have gone, to which one, or to a variety of our competitors? Mr. IOANES. Yes, all around the world. Mr. IOANES. I don't think Mr. MICHEL. You don't think it is lost forever? Mr. MICHEL. You attribute it solely to the strike? PREPARATION FOR TARIFF NEGOTIATIONS Mr. MICHEL. The Department of Agriculture, you say, must devote a great deal of time and effort to the task of analyzing the trade situation for literally hundreds of items. Mr. IONES. Yes. Mr. MICHEL. Which will figure in the forthcoming sixth round of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Mr. IOANES. Yes. Mr. MICHEL. Now, will the Department of Commerce be figuring in these? Mr. IOANES. Yes, sir. Mr. MICHEL. And are you working closely with them? Mr. IOANES. Yes, sir. The two primary departments concerned with the economic studies of tariff negotiations are the two Departments you have mentioned. Commerce is now making similar studies for industrial products. And where we say we have literally hundreds of items, I am sure they would say they have literally thousands. Specialists in both Departments are already conducting preliminary studies of the effects of tariff cuts on both sides of the water on both our exports and our imports. This process will be going on steadily for the next 2 years. It is a subject that you gentlemen and the Congress will be hearing about as items start to get listed, your people are going to be coming to you as well as us saying that "This is good," or "It is not good." I would also like to add that many other agencies of Government are going to have to help us in this process, because it is such a big manpower job to do these analyses for hundreds of items and make sure you know what you have got, that we are going to have to call other agencies of our Government to help get the job done. I don't think it will appear in their budget as it will in ours, because it is our primary job. But we are going to have to take everything we export and everything we import and see what kind of bargain we come out with, if tariffs are cut this amount or that amount. INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIRS AND PROMOTION Mr. MICHEL. On this large trade exhibit in Western Europe this fall, is that your primary responsibility, or does Commerce have that? Mr. IOANES. It is entirely our responsibility, and Commerce of course puts on its own fairs with respect to industrial products. Mr. MICHEL. But this is strictly going to be an agricultural fair? Mr. IOANES. It is our fair. And we will be working very closely with a couple of other agencies of the Government, and will be seeking the advice of the Commerce Department. But this will not be an ordinary trade fair; this will be a fair in which we are going to try to promote the cause of a liberal trade policy. This means that other agenices, such as USIA, which have a role in this, will be brought into the act with us. We are going to have to see that agricultural leaders from this country, trade leaders from this country and trade groups who can talk about the benefits of reasonably priced food are present at the fair and use the fair as a takeoff point to help us with our longtime access problem. Mr. MICHEL. Will this involve more than raw agricultural products? Mr. IOANES. Yes. Mr. MICHEL. Processed? Mr. IOANES. Yes. Mr. MICHEL. I am glad to hear you say that. ADDITIONAL STAFFING AT FOREIGN POSTS What are we talking about when we are talking about junior assistants? Mr. IOANES. We are talking there of men in age from about 26 up to 40, even, who are in grade ranges 11 and 12. They are agricultural college graduates, who are like the people you have met in Italy and in Paris and in possibly 12 or 13 places around the globe. These are outstanding college people, many of whom have trained with us in the summertime, so that they have learned what we do, and have spent 2 or 3 or 4 years here in Washington, and some even longer, and then have gone out to learn the ropes in the field under an experienced attaché. Someday they will become an attaché. Mr. MINOR. One has just been transferred to Monrovia, Liberia, as an attaché, Neil Witting. Mr. MICHEL. How much of a volume of business do we do in Liberia? Mr. MINOR. But he has this whole territory of several countries. Mr. MICHEL. Did I understand you to say that one of those new three attachés would be in Dakar? Mr. IOANES. Yes. Mr. MICHEL. Why not further up north? Mr. IOANES. Do you have a map here? Mr. MICHEL. The map shows the deficiency to really be in north Africa. Mr. IOANES. That is the northern area. We are talking about the division of this area here [indicating on map]. We feel we are the weakest in this area, which is what you are talking about. |