Mr. Graves, if you want to start.

MR. GRAVES: Thank you, Ron. And I would like to begin again by thanking Gus Schumacher and the Secretary of USDA for affording the Vermont Department of Agriculture the opportunity to host this public listening session regarding the future scale of WTO trade organizations. I appreciate the testimony that we have had today.

We have certainly had a diverse point of view, which I'm sure will become part of the official record along with the other testimony that has been taken at the other 11 listening sessions around the country.

I know that some of the issues had been expressed here today panelists have heard and will be incorporated into the discussion as we head into the next round. I want to thank Paul Aceto from the State Department for coming here as well and Bob Cummings from USTR for coming here and providing you with this opportunity for testimony and very important input into this very important debate.

And I again, as I said earlier, as the Commissioner of Agriculture, I welcome the opportunity to continue these discussions here at the state and regional level as we go forward and attempt to put good public policy together to these very important issues. Thank you very much.

MR. ALLBEE: Secretary Schumacher.

MR. SCHUMACHER: All of you -- I have been to a number of these sessions around the countryside. Many states. It's like a democracy. We have not done this before. I must say since I have been up here (inaudible) but we are listening. We are listening to the south. We are listening to the west. Listening in Montana. Listening in Memphis, Indiana, Iowa, listening to people from the grass roots. Passion of people. People care about family farming. You have passion today. What we try to do unlike (inaudible) is that leave Washington. Arrive up here, visit at least all day, yesterday went to dairy farmers and three apple growers in this area. These aren't wealthy. (inaudible) Agriculture in American.

We have seen (inaudible) to get to a local airport. Any airport is just packed, so much prosperity, but it is not in rural America.

And we are facing a very severe problem in rural America because I have been hearing it throughout the countryside. I hear what you have to say. It is being recorded. We have a court reporter here recording the comments.

You have taken time from your farms to visit with us today. Taken time from other occupations. You're compassionate. We have listened. We have heard in the way other farmers in other parts of the country in different ways, some feel very strongly the European union export subsidies is so distorted that is going on. So far we have heard about Japan, China, Korea, Mexico, Canada, playing by fair rules is disturbed.

We heard from you today somewhat differently in terms of your concerns. They are concerns about some trade issues (inaudible) it's been recorded, and certainly Bob will share this.

I'm sure Mr. Glickman -- Mr. Glickman did on July 13 speak I think very carefully and very heartfelt on the issue of biotechnology. Calling it new century, new challenges, how will a scientist and consumers learn to live by technology and what happens if they don't. That's the topic of the speech. It's on the Internet.

Certainly welcome any thoughts you have. Those are the comments here we are taking back as well.

So I appreciate the farmers of Vermont coming out today since 8 o'clock this morning to 2:30 to counsel us in Washington. We want to thank Steve and Leon and others for putting this together. (Inaudible). A lot going on. I'm grateful for you coming out.

Ron, thank you for bearing with us all today and keeping the session on track. Thank you all for coming out and counseling us on your views, how the U.S. government should approach the next round of WTO starting in Seattle, November 30. Thank you very much.

MR. CUMMINGS: I would like just to give my thanks to the State of Vermont and for the people who put this session together. I well know how time intensive it is and resources that go into it.

Let me say that I have been to other listening sessions and we will be -- continue to listen to groups as we proceed to negotiations. I particularly today appreciate the sincerity and courage of some of the speakers to come up. I know for some it's a difficult thing.

I also appreciate the sincerity on issues of biotechnology because it's not an issue we have experienced before in international (inaudible). And it's a topic that's in flux.

And so I appreciate again hearing from you all. I'll go back to Washington with this experience, and we are also going to continue talking to people. We don't just do it out of Washington. I'm meeting more and more frequently these days as we get closer to Seattle ministerial with consumer groups, environmental groups, and we also will continue to meet with groups from (inaudible) that's our job to hear all sides of the issue.

And once again, thanks for the opportunity to provide (inaudible) thanks very much.

MR. ALLBEE: Mr. Aceto.

MR. ACETO: I was just struck one of the things you get used to fairly quickly in the foreign service when you go overseas to serve is that in other countries people immediately suspect you're a CIA agent. I had a bit of that feeling today with some of the comments. And there was obviously distrust of the WTO. I hope we can try and work on that. To explain and to listen as well to the concerns that we don't always hear very often in Washington.

I do want to say though that I heard in some of the statements today I guess a sense that people in Washington and regulators are willing to risk U.S. citizens for the benefit of corporations. I just have to tell you in my experience of working on this, I don't find that to be the case. You may disagree with some of the policies, but I do think that people are trying to do the best they can and I do think that people are (inaudible).

I'm going to thank you on the staff who put this together, and I thank everyone for taking the time to come out.

MR. ALLBEE: Thank you all for coming to Vermont. Thank you.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: I thought that this was an open forum session. And I wanted to ask a question about the Seattle ministerial.

MR. ALLBEE: There is no open question.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: Okay. I wanted to find out if there is a forum in Seattle for people to have any kind of say. Because that's where I'm from, and I feel really strongly that you're on my home turf when you're there. And is there that forum in the WTO --

MR. CUMMINGS: I think the answer, and I say I think the answer is most definitely yes. But I just don't know the details. I'm not involved in the nitty-gritty. If you can leave me somewhere where I can get back in touch with you, a phone number or an E-mail address, when I get back to Washington I can forward you some information.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: Is there a way to make that public information?

MR. CUMMINGS: Yeah. What I'm going to forward back to you, for example, is a Web site -- for the WTO Web site from Seattle and a couple of different ones.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: The next thing though is --

MR. CUMMINGS: It is an open process. And I simply am not involved in that side of it, so I can't give you specifics. But give me some way that I can get in touch with you.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: I know the WTO web site. Are you telling me there is a space within the WTO for us to participate?

MR. CUMMINGS: I need to go back and check with those who are in it day-to-day and get back to you. Which I will.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: On the schedule here it says 3:00 p.m. open discussion among negotiators, panelists and speakers.

MR. ALLBEE: I have 3:00 p.m. closing remarks.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: On this schedule it says 4:00 p.m. closing statement by Commissioner Leon Graves. It is now 2:30.

MR. ALLBEE: I believe that -- I don't know where you got that schedule.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: It was sent to me in the mail.

MR. ALLBEE: That was the preliminary schedule put together by the Agriculture Department before we knew what the travel schedules were for people here.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: So we are no longer interested in having a discussion?

MR. ALLBEE: You've all had a chance to present your point of view and talk with the Secretary, so it's over.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: I'm severely disappointed.

MR. ALLBEE: You can talk to the --

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: I picked this schedule up on the table today. I mean I just, you know, it says 3:00 p.m. open discussion. So it's been canceled?

MR. ALLBEE: I'm telling you on the schedule that was preliminary.

MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC: That was on your table today right out there.

MR. ALLBEE: I told you it was a preliminary schedule.

(Whereupon, the listening session was adjourned at 2:40 p.m.)