Less Than Perfect Yet Worth Having

Rep. George Nethercutt demonstrated the skills of a mature statesman this week, winning a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy - a shift of great value to his constituents in farming-dependent Eastern Washington.

After three years of patient negotiation, Nethercutt sealed a deal that will allow U.S. farmers to sell goods directly to Cuba as well as Iran, Libya, North Korea and Sudan. If the deal wins final approval from Congress and the president, it will turn U.S. policy away from using food exports as a political weapon.

Eastern Washington wheat, lentil and apple growers are only one of many constituencies around the world that stand to benefit. People who live in the affected Third World countries, hungry and otherwise disadvantaged by the bad luck of having been born under a totalitarian regime, now might be better fed thanks to food commodities imported from the United States. Unlike Elian Gonzalez, most of the children who live in these countries will never appear on CNN but are needy nonetheless, victimized by grownups’ battles over power and ideology.

Nethercutt rightly has argued that food should not be a weapon and in any case is not an effective weapon. U.S. limits on food exports failed to topple Castro but stayed in place for 38 years, anyway. Politically motivated trade restrictions do, however, aggravate the deprivation of innocents like Elian. In addition, they punish U.S. farmers - blocking them from market opportunities or overturning successful trading relationships. This has made countries such as Pakistan unsure whether Americans are reliable trading partners.

It was not easy for Nethercutt to pursue this cause. Some of his party’s leaders in Congress opposed him. So do some Americans. It remains politically popular to kick Castro in the shins, even when it is Eastern Washington farmers, not Castro, who say “ouch.” It takes a statesman to annoy the election-year commie bashers for the sake of a higher cause. It takes a statesman to compromise, deeming a flawed deal better than none. For example, Castro haters managed to ban U.S. financing of the Cuban food purchases. That won’t hurt Castro but might hurt innocent Cubans and Americans.

There is another positive aspect to Nethercutt’s victory. The Freedom to Farm Act, which Nethercutt also sponsored, cannot yet be called a success. Free trade in global food commodities remains a dream, not a reality. Trade restrictions have been one key obstacle, keeping U.S. farmers out of promising markets.

Together with the prospect of normalized trade with China, this week’s deal gives U.S. farmers hope for a larger market opportunity. Demand could increase. Commodity prices, now depressed, could rise. U.S. agriculture, now struggling, could grow stronger and could begin to use its enormous productive capacity to the benefit of all of the world’s children.