Speech #910207825

President. I introduce. for printing and appropriate reference. a bill to revise the quota control system on the importation of certain meat and meat products. I do not intend to make a detailed explanation of this bill other than to say that it is the same as the meat quota bill introduced by the senior Senator from Nebraska on June 12. 1969S. 2400except that my bill also includes fresh. chilled. or frozen pork and prepared or preserved pork products except sausage. Since Iowa is the No. 1 pork producing State in the Nation. I believe it is appropriate that I introduce a bill to include pork and pork products. including canned items. in the meat quota lawespecially since Midwest hog prices recently sank to the lowest point since their May 1969 level. Mr. President. a serious situation is developing in the case of imports covered by the meat quota law. Under the 1964 law. the present quota for 1970 is 998.8 million pounds. This quota is not triggered. however. unless actual meat imports subject to the law exceed the quota by 10 percent. in other words. reach 1.098 million pounds. Each of the major supplying countries has agreed to voluntary limits which. for 1970. amount to 1.061 million pounds. If the limits were adhered to for this year. imports would not exceed the quota by 10 percent and. therefore. the quota would not be triggered. However. for the period of January through March this year. the U.S. imports of meat subject to the meat quota law totaled 337 million pounds47 percent more than the same period in 1969. It is my understanding that the estimate for April is about 100 million pounds for a total through April of this year of about 437 million pounds. This is an annual rate of around 1.300 to 1.350 million pounds--far in excess of the trigger point of 1.098 million pounds. On March 10. 1970. 16 other Senators and I signed a letter to President Nixon urging him to issue an Executive order. which he presently has under consideration. to prohibit the entry of meat except on through bills of lading which act as meat import certificates. This would put a stop to the practice of shipping meat from Australia and New Zealand to Canada and then transshipping it across the border for the purpose of evading our quota system. Although the amount involved is not large. it is significant. I once again urge the President to issue this Executive order.