Australian Delegation Meeting, August 4, 1986

Transcription (Scripto)

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Extent (Dublin Core)

8 Pages

File Name (Dublin Core)

lead_390_045_all

Title (Dublin Core)

Australian Delegation Meeting, August 4, 1986

Date (Dublin Core)

1986-08-04

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1986-08-04

Congress (Dublin Core)

99th (1985-1987)

Topics (Dublin Core)

See all items with this value Wheat trade--United States

Policy Area (Curation)

Foreign Trade and International Finance

Creator (Dublin Core)

Dole, Robert J., 1923-2021

Record Type (Dublin Core)

memorandums

notes (documents)

Rights (Dublin Core)

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Language (Dublin Core)

eng

Collection Finding Aid (Dublin Core)

https://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=26&q=

Physical Location (Dublin Core)

Collection 007, Box 390, Folder 45

Institution (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Archival Collection (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Republican Leadership Collection, 1985-1996

Full Text (Extract Text)

BOB DOLE
KANSAS

United States Senate
OFFICE OF MAJORITY LEADER
S-230 THE CAPITOL

(entire page handwritten)

4:00 Australian Delegation
S-230
Helms, Andrews, Abdnor (grouped together)
Nickles
John G
Al
Mock
Cab
(illegible)
Helms
Andrews Abdnor
(6)
Australians
797-3015
Greg Wood
Helen Freeman
Tim McDonald
re Conference on

BOB DOLE
KANSAS

United States Senate
OFFICE OF MAJORITY LEADER
S-230 THE CAPITOL

Monday, august 4th
4:00 Dole, Helms, Andrews, Abdnor, Nickles 5754

Kassebaum, Pressler, Melcher, Boren, Burdick, Yorinsky

Australian Delegation (6) or 12
Cabinet secy
Ambassador
4 members of parliament
Helms
Andrews
Abdnor
Dole
John Gordley, Al Lehn, Mack B

August 4, 1986
MEMORANDUM TO SENATOR DOLE
FROM: MARK BISNOW, AL LEHN
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH AUSTRALIAN DELEGATION

The Australian delegation is scheduled to come to your office for a 15 minute visit at 4:00. Those attending are expected to include:
Senator Abdnor (handwritten note: on his way, check mark)
Senator Andrews (handwritten note: on his way, check mark)
Senator Helms
Senator Nickles (handwritten note: on his way, check mark)
Other Senators whom you and John Gordley suggested inviting (Burdick - on his way, Boren - no, Grassley ?, Kassebaum - no, Melcher ?, Pressler - no, and Zorinsky - no).

Hon. John Kerin, Minister for Primary Industry (Labor Party), leader of the delegation
Hon. Ralph Hunt, M.P., Opposition Spokesman on Primary Industry (Country Party)
Hon. Wal Fife, M.P., Chairman of the Opposition Rural Affairs Committee (Liberal Party)
Hon. Barry Cunningham, M.P., Chairman of the Labor Party Caucus on Rural Affairs (Labor Party)
Senator Michael Macklin, Democratic Party Spokesman on Primary Industry (Democratic Party)
His Excellency Rawdon Dalrymple, Australian Ambassador to the United States

Note: The delegation includes members of all of Australia's four principal political parties.

Objectives of Meeting
One objective of this meeting is for you to be seen taking a statesmanlike interest in the concerns of an important ally. This will help allay the flak you're getting in the press that all you're concerned about is election-year politics. It would be helpful in this regard for you to be seen amiably greeting the Australians and reaffirming to them their importance and your concern about their interests.

Another objective is to demonstrate the firmness of your intention to pursue the EEP initiative.

2

Talking Points
o Acknowledge the importance of U.S. - Australian bilateral relations.
o Reaffirm your intention to pursue your initiative, because of the serious problems facing American agriculture and the need to challenge foreign subsidies.
o Express the hope that the U.S. and Australia can work together to open international grain markets.
o Indicate that you have written a letter to Prime Minister Hawke reflecting these points. (You may wish to present the letter formally to the delegation.)

You can expect some of your Senate colleagues to press the Australians hard -- you probably need not bash them over the head yourself. But you will want to be in a position to tell the press, post-meeting, that you indicated your intention to proceed with your EEP initiative.

U.S./AUSTRALIAN WHEAT SITUATION
* USDA's announcement making U.S. wheat available to the Soviet Union at current world prices applies only to the quantity necessary to fulfill the terms of the U.S. /Soviet Long Term Grain Agreement (LTA), 4 mmt. Therefore, it applies only to the obligations already made by the Soviets and does not represent an intrusion into expected Australian sales.
* U.S. exporters will be given USDA generic certificates in sufficient quantity to make it possible for them to make U.S. prices competitive.
* Australia ranks high as a world wheat producer, but exports usually about 75% of production. Their production is greatly influenced by weather.
* Australians deny they subsidize wheat sales. In actuality, they use a government system, the Australian Wheat Board, which provides many ways to hide price subsidies. They basically have a two price system whereby they have locked in sales in certain markets and they can discount in other markets to be competitive.
* Although the Australians would deny it, U.S. exporters have in the past complained that Australia uses numerous means to gain markets: technical assistance such as building elevators in certain countries, offering bonus wheat, discounting prices.
* AWB obtains daily information relating to wheat sales, prices, and availability of wheat in markets throughout the world. Australian wheat export prices are set each day on FOB terms in competition with international wheat prices and are normally quoted for each shipment period up to six months forward.
* Every major exporter trades with subsidies in one form or another. Question is what constitutes a subsidy. EEC subsidies are clearly identifiable.

-1-

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT STATS (mmt)
Begin stocks Prod. Dom. use Exports End. stocks
82/83 8.1
83/84 10.5
84/85 7.5 18.7 5.1 15.3 18.5
85/86 8.5 16.0 4.9 15.7 5.8
86/87 14.5

U.S. WHEAT STATS (mmt)
Begin stocks Prod. Dom. use Exports End. stocks
82/83 39.9
83/84 38.9
84/85 38.0 70.6 42.5 38.1 38.9
85/86 38.8 65.9 36.4 25.0 51.7
86/87 30.0

*SOVIET WHEAT IMPORTS BY ORIGIN (mmt)
81/82 82/83 83/84 84/85 85/86
U.S. 6.9 3.0 4.4 6.1 .170
Aust. 2.4 1.0 1.6 2.1 3.2
EEC 1.7 3.4 3.6 6.1 5.7

*The EEC's share of the Soviet market has consistently increased through the use of subsidies. The Australian's share is up substantially this year over previous years, while the U.S. share has plummeted greatly.

MEMORANDUM

July 30, 1986
To: SENATOR DOLE
From: AL LEHN
Subject: APPOINTMENT REQUEST: AUSTRALIAN DELEGATION

APPOINTMENT REQUEST. The Australians have dispatched a ministerial level delegation, headed by Primary Industries Minister John Kerin, to the U.S. to protest your EEP-for-the-Soviet Union initiative. The delegation would like to call on you to make their case (which, essentially, is that Australia, which doesn't subsidize, will be badly hurt if the EEP is used in the U.S.S.R.).

COMMENT. Your initiative has become a major issue in Australia, in which Prime Minister Hawke and others have been personally engaged.

RECOMMENDATION. That you see the delegation briefly. We can probably get some press play. We also owe the Australians, as a good ally, the chance to be heard.

DECISION:
OK, schedule
No

cc. MARK BISNOW, BETTY, JOYCE

BOB DOLE
KANSAS

United States Senate
OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY LEADER
WASHINGTON, DC 20510

August 1, 1986

MEMORANDUM

TO: SENATOR DOLE
FROM: MARK BISNOW
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH AUSTRALIANS

I understand you said at the Sperling breakfast that you expected to meet with the Australian delegation.

If so, I suggest that we try to arrange for the attendance of a few other Senators who can help take some of the heat: Symms, Andrews, Abdnor, etc. I have been told by the Australians that Helms says he hopes to attend any meeting which you have with them.

The Australians will be here until Wednesday. They are meeting with a few Administration officials (Yeutter, Baker, Lyng, Undersecretary of State Wallis) and some Hill people (Lugar, Melcher, Foley, de la Garza, Garn, Gibbons, House Foreign Affairs Committee). They are prepared to meet with you at virtually any time. I recommend waiting until after the weekend, say Monday.

Questions:
1. Do you wish to meet with the Australians (as Al Lehn has recommended in a previous memo)?
Yes No
2. Do you want to invite other senators, such as the co-sponsors of your amendment?
Yes (check mark) No
3. Shall we try to schedule a meeting for Monday afternoon?
Yes (check mark) No
(illegible handwritten word)

Australian Delegation Meeting, August 4, 1986

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