Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment that addresses a problem relating to the American citrus industry and implementation of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Chairman, the Congress approved the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, and it was signed by the President in 2011. The agreement has increased opportunities for U.S. businesses, farmers, and workers through an important access to a vital foreign market.

Under this agreement, over 95 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products will become duty-free within 5 years of the date of the agreement. For American agricultural products, the U.S.-Korea agreement immediately phases out tariffs and quotas on a broad range of products.

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that annual U.S. agricultural exports to South Korea will increase by a minimum of $1.9 billion upon full implementation. In particular, the free trade agreement eliminated South Korea's 54 percent tariff on frozen concentrated orange juice, and it phases out the tariffs on fresh grapefruit and freshly squeezed orange juice over 5 years.

The negotiated removal of such tariffs will allow the American citrus industry to grow and expand. It will create jobs in America, including jobs related to citrus growers, maritime businesses and ports such as my home port, the Port of Tampa. This is great news for my home State of Florida and other States across the U.S. where they grow citrus. It's vital to our economy and local communities.

But we have hit a little bit of a stumbling block with South Korea during the implementation of the free trade agreement. South Korea is resisting the USDA's country-of-origin certification for U.S. citrus.

My amendment, the Castor amendment, seeks to correct this problem by directing the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure that the Department's certificates of origin are accepted by any country with respect to which the United States has entered into a free trade agreement providing for preferential duty treatment.

Fortunately, the Congressional Budget Office says there's no new cost for this amendment. I would like to thank my colleagues from Florida, Congressman Webster and Congressman Hastings on the Rules Committee, for their support in getting this amendment made in order. I'd like to thank Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson for their fair consideration.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the Castor amendment.

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