Statement by the President on the Signing of the International Coffee Agreement

It gives me great satisfaction that the International Coffee Agreement was signed today at the United Nations in New York. It was signed on behalf of our country by Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson and our principal negotiator, W. Michael Blumenthal, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. I am submitting the Agreement to the Senate next week and shall urge that it be considered early in the next Congress. Since we account for 50 percent of world coffee imports, the Agreement cannot take effect until ratified by the United States.

The Agreement is a heartening example of international cooperation to resolve a vitally important economic problem. Coffee is the third most traded commodity in the world and is the main source of foreign income in many underdeveloped countries, particularly in Latin America. A drop of one cent a pound for green coffee costs Latin American producers $50 million in export proceeds--enough to seriously undercut what we are seeking to accomplish by the Alliance for Progress.

The Agreement fixes export and import quotas for coffee. To assure that prices to consumers are fair and reasonable, importing nations have an equal voice with exporters in fixing quotas. Fifty-eight countries took part in the negotiations, and some 70 nations may eventually join in this Agreement covering the bulk of world trade in coffee.