Remarks of Senator Patrick Leahy,
Signing Ceremony Of Alliance Between
U.S. Agency for International Development
And Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
December 9, 2002

I want to thank Robert Stiller of Green Mountain Coffee, Administrator Andrew Natsios and Assistant Administrator Ed Fox of USAID for being here today.

I commend USAID in joining with Green Mountain Coffee to expand Fair Trade Coffee practices around the world.  This is one of those many things that USAID is doing -- which too often go unnoticed -- to improve the livelihoods of poor people and promote better policies that affect us all.  I hope that signing this Memorandum of Understanding is another step toward finding a coordinated, global solution to the coffee crisis. 

The worldwide price of coffee has plummeted almost 70 percent over the last five years.  This has devastated the economies of poor countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America -- it has ruined the livelihoods of millions of people, and it has hurt our foreign aid efforts in these countries.  Besides stifling the production of high-quality coffee and hurting the farmers who grow it, the crisis is limiting the availability of high-quality coffee to consumers in the United States and around the world.

In the best traditions of Vermont, Green Mountain Coffee has worked with international organizations, like Oxfam, to be part of the solution to this crisis.  Through their leadership in promoting "Fair Trade Coffee" practices, Green Mountain has been working in Latin America to pay coffee producers a premium price for their products and improve the quality of coffee here at home.

Congress is on record supporting these efforts.  I sponsored a resolution, with Senators Specter and Dodd, calling on the Administration to work with the coffee industry and local producers to find a solution to the coffee crisis.  The resolution passed the Senate in November and a similar version also was passed by the House.

We can also support coffee producing nations with our own daily choices.  I am pleased to announce that the Senate Restaurants will soon be offering the option of fair trade coffee to senators, their staffs and the public.  Serving fair trade coffee in our own cafeterias and coffee shops is one step toward fair prices for coffee farmers.

Participants:

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Operations

Andrew Natsios, Adminstrator, U.S. Agency for International Development

Robert Stiller, Chairman, President and CEO, Green Mountain Coffee Inc.

Ed Fox, Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs, USAID

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