Fran O'Sullivan: Johanns' visit well timed

It is fitting that US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is the first Cabinet-ranked official in the Bush Administration to visit New Zealand.

New Zealand's future prosperity is dependent on getting a good outcome on agriculture liberalisation in the current World Trade Organisation talks.

Bringing someone like Condi Rice down here just before the election (as if she would come!) would have put the nuclear row centre stage. But a player like Johanns, who has been deputed the much more knotty challenge of how to wind back rampant US agriculture protectionism, is more important to us - now.

Our politicians must not waste the opportunity to impress on Johanns the importance of a modern agriculture trading regime to global prosperity. Even with the best endeavours by players like Tim Groser - the aspirant National candidate currently heading the WTO agriculture negotiations - an attempt by key trade ministers to get a breakthrough in China last week was stalemated.

Johanns' visit gives New Zealand a vital opportunity to focus his mind on the importance of WTO reform and hopefully stiffen his backbone when it comes to dealing to the powerful US farm lobby.

That sad fact is that while US President George Bush says he is ready to move on agriculture subsidies, his rhetoric is belied by his Administration's protectionist record. It was the Bush Administration after all which has maintained the Farm Bill, wrapping US farmers in even more "pork" to keep them onside.

But the Iowan-born dairy farmer will get a chance to see first-hand how farmers can cope without subsidies when he looks in on a major dairy farm here.

His visit shoulders a trip to Australia for five-party talks by some of the world's most powerful agriculture ministers. The "Quint", as the group is known, includes the US, EU, Japan, Canada and Australia. The ministers will test the waters as to the political palatability of Groser's proposed agriculture reform text.

Johanns' visit is a coup for Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton. As Sutton tells it (as he would) the pair "got on so well" when they met at a Korean trade ministers' meeting that he invited Johanns to call in when he was next in the neighbourhood.

Sutton was so excited by Johanns' positive response that he came close to letting the cat out of the bag while in Beijing just days later talking trade with top Chinese politicians. But he managed to restrain himself from tipping the visit until Washington had confirmed it.