TRADE NEWS BULLETIN  Volume I Number 205
Thursday, December 3, 1992
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GATT News Summary
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FRENCH INDUSTRY KEEPING QUIET ON GATT TALKS

In sharp contrast to the loud protests of French farmers, French 
industrial leaders are remaining ominously quiet on the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).   Many large French 
companies have said they will not make statements or conduct 
lobbying on GATT.  Analysts speculate the companies do not want to 
announce support for the agreement so as not to displease a 
population that, according to a recent survey, is 82 percent in 
support of the farmers.

"Industry doesn't want to play one sector of the French economy off 
against another, so the bankers aren't going to say publicly, 'Let's 
sacrifice the farmers for a trade deal,'" said Michel Fouquin, a French 
economist. 

Source: Tara Patel, "French Industry Remains Silent on GATT Talks," 
JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, December 2, 1992, p. 10A.
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US SOYBEAN GROWERS ATTACK GATT DEAL

The GATT proposal to cut U.S. subsidies for oilseed exports will result 
in a sharp decrease in U.S. vegetable oil exports, the American 
Soybean Association (ASA) said yesterday.  "U.S. producers of 
soybeans and other oilseeds are facing a combination of continued 
lost access to the EC market with no compensation for these losses, 
continued export of an unlimited volume of subsidized EC vegetable 
oil, and a sharp, immediate cutback in exports under our own 
programs," ASA President Steve Yoder said in a news release.  Yoder 
called on the Bush Administration to seek changes in the U.S. export 
limit in the Dunkel draft of GATT, or provide compensation to U.S. 
oilseed producers.

Source: "U.S. Soy Growers Say GATT Deal Will Hurt Exports," REUTER, 
December 2, 1992.
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HILLS APPLAUDS TAIWAN'S GATT EFFORTS IN VISIT

U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills hailed Taiwan's efforts to gain 
full membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
(GATT), but pressed the country to "conform its economic policies to 
current world standards."  Hills, who arrived in Taipei Monday for a 
four-day bilateral trade conference, also proposed the establishment 
of a Taiwan-U.S. trade and investment council to discuss trade issues 
and resolve disputes.   Hills is the most senior U.S. official to visit 
Taiwan since the U.S. cut ties with the island in 1979.

In private meetings, Hills asked Taiwanese officials to seek tougher 
protection of U.S. intellectual property, increased imports of U.S. 
agriculture products and greater market access for U.S. insurance 
firms and banks.  She also encouraged Taiwan to purchase more 
American goods.  "Taiwan should not settle for second best when it 
has the opportunity to buy first-rate U.S. products and services," she 
said.  

The 1991 U.S. trade deficit with Taiwan was almost $10 billion.

Source: "Historic Visit Focused On Trade," UPI, December 2, 1992.
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NAFTA News Summary
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DAIRY FARMERS VOICE NAFTA WORRIES TO ITC

Dairy farmers called on the U.S. International Trade Commission 
(ITC) to consider the North American Free Trade Agreement's 
"potential negative impact on family dairy farmers" before the 
commission makes any recommendations to Congress.  In a 
November 19 statement to the ITC, Farmers' Union Milk Marketing 
Cooperative (FUMMC) President Stewart G. Huber said NAFTA's risks 
for U.S. diary farmers "have not been given adequate consideration" 
by U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills and other members of the 
Bush Administration.

In FUMMC's newsletter, MILK MATTERS, the union says it objects to 
NAFTA's "exclusion of the Canadian dairy market; [as well as] 
inadequate rules of origin; failure to adequately resolve sanitation 
standards issues; and uneven treatment of tariffs on cheese and 
other dairy products between the U.S. and Mexico."

FUMMC is also displeased with the agriculture agreement in GATT, 
believing the U.S. caved in to European demands on a wide range of 
issues.

Source: "FUMMC Warns International Trade Panel About NAFTA 
Dairy Concerns," MILK MATTERS, November 30, 1992, p. 1.
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Other Trade News

Chinese and Vietnamese officials agreed to expand trade and 
increase efforts to settle territorial disputes between the two nations.  
The agreement was announced yesterday in Hanoi as Premier Li 
Peng became the first Chinese prime minister to visit Vietnam in 21 
years.

Source: "China, Vietnam Agree to Expand Trade," JOURNAL OF 
COMMERCE, Dec. 2, 1992.
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Produced by: 
Kai Mander   
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
1313 Fifth Street SE, Suite #303
Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA

Telephone:(612)379-5980 Fax:(612)379-5982 
E-Mail:kmander@igc.apc.org
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