of adequate patent protection to pharmaceuticals has been a highly contentious bilateral issue. In May 1997, the U.S. suspended 50% of Argentina's GSP benefits because of its unsatisfactory pharmaceutical patent law. In normal years, Argentina raises enough agricultural products not only to fill domestic needs but also to export surpluses to foreign markets. Of Argentina's land area of about 280 million ha (about 692 million acres), slightly more than 50 percent is used for pasturing cattle and sheep herds, less than 22 percent for woodland, and about 4 percent for permanent crops; about 13 percent of the country's land area is arable. The Pampas is the most important agricultural zone of the country, producing wheat and cereal grains. Irrigated areas, from the Ro Negro north through Mendoza, San Juan, Tucumn, and Jujuy, are rich sources of fruit, sugarcane, and wine grapes. Livestock raising and slaughtering are major enterprises in Argentina, as are the refrigeration and processing of meat and animal products; total annual meat production exceeds 3.4 million metric tons. In the late 1980s there were some 50.8 million head of cattle, 29.2 million sheep, 3.1 million horses and 4.1 million pigs in Argentina.7Despite declines during the 1980s, livestock export still plays an important role in foreign trade. Earnings from meat, hides, and skins in 1989 were about $1.1 billion, or about 11 percent of total export earnings. Argentina has long ranked as the world leader in the export of raw meat. Cooked and canned meats are increasingly important exports. Large quantities of wool are produced and exported; in the late 1980s, about 138,000 metric tons of wool were produced per year, out of a world total of about 3.12 million metric tons. About 40 percent of all sheep in Argentina are raised in the Patagonia region. Wheat is the most important crop. Argentina is among the major producers of wheat in the world. In the late 1980s, the annual whea...
