Date: 13 Mar 2000
Time: 23:11:48
Remote Name: 24.30.137.96
Mon Mar 13 17:49:37 2000
US Senator Urges Clinton To Seek Wheat Sales To Iran
03/13/2000 Dow Jones Commodities Service (Copyright (c) 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is urging President Bill Clinton to work with Iranian officials to get sales of U.S. wheat to the country on the books.
" Iran is a significant market in need of agricultural commodities - especially wheat - produced by struggling American farmers," he wrote in a letter to Clinton sent Monday.
Roberts said the Clinton administration should build on recent statements made by Iranian government officials, who indicated that Iran would buy American wheat if the U.S. would ease sanctions on their exports of rugs, pistachios and caviar.
"At one time, Iran was the largest single importer of U.S. soft white wheat. However, a failed U.S. sanctions policy has forced Iran to purchase a substantial amount of commodities from our competitors," Roberts said.
The U.S. missed out on nearly $200 million in U.S. wheat sales the last six months of 1999 when Iran bought 1.7 million tons of Canadian wheat, he said.
"Unilateral sanctions never accomplish their goals. We must fight for foreign export markets, not give them away to our competitors," Roberts said.
He also urged Clinton to broaden the U.S. trade relationship with Iran by widening the number of American products available for export licensing and by considering the use of U.S. Agriculture Department credits to finance large grain deals.
"Not only will an initiation of a two-way trading relationship bode well for American agriculture, but it will demonstrate to Iran 's newly elected officials that we are serious about peace through prosperity," Roberts said.
The Clinton administration eased sanctions last year on Iran to allow sales of food and medicine. The U.S. has since sold some corn to Iran , but has yet to sell wheat to the country.
U.S. wheat sales to Iran are conditioned on whether the U.S. opens its market to Iranian goods, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said last week in Tehran.
-By Kim Archer; Dow Jones Newswires