TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume II Number 1 Monday, January 4, 1993 _________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary _________________________________________________________ SALINAS, CLINTON WILL MEET THIS WEEK Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and U.S. President-elect Bill Clinton will meet in Austin, Texas January 8. They are expected to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the kidnapping of Mexicans in Mexico to bring them to the United States for trial. Reports from Mexico indicate Salinas is becoming increasingly concerned about Clinton's expressed "reservations" about NAFTA's environmental and labor regulations. "Under Bush, it was a question of lobbying individual members of Congress to win their vote for ratification," said Ted Bardecke, political editor of EL FINANCIERO INTERNACIONAL. "Now Salinas has to lobby the whole government." Source: "President Salinas to Meet with Clinton, Mexico City," UPI, December 27, 1992; John Ross, "Mexican Politicians Wary of Clinton Presidency," LATINAMERICA PRESS, November 26, 1992, p. 3. _________________________________________________________ PUERTO RICO FACES HARD TIMES UNDER NAFTA Many Puerto Rican political and business leaders are worried NAFTA will diminish the island's appeal to U.S. businesses. Puerto Rico has long been a destination for American companies looking for low wages and tax incentives, but under NAFTA, those same companies will have access to Mexico's even lower wages. This coupled with the possibility that Section 936 tax exemptions will be eliminated form a "double whammy" for Puerto Rico that could lead to a "total collapse" of the economy, said former Puerto Rican governor Rafael Hernandez Colon. In addition, Puerto Rican business officials say U.S. companies will flock to Mexico to take advantage of the less-regulated economic environment. "Don't forget about the FDA, EPA, OSHA and their rules," said Hector Jimenez Juarbe, executive director of the Puerto Rico Manufacturing Association. "All those things are in place [in Puerto Rico], but not in Mexico." The National Puerto Rican Coalition, which represents approximately 100 Puerto Rican community and advocacy groups, announced its opposition to NAFTA in December. Source: Larry Rohter, "Trade Pact Threatens Puerto Rico's Economic Rise," NEW YORK TIMES, January 3, 1992, p. 1. _________________________________________________________ JESSE JACKSON RIPS NAFTA IN EDITORIAL In a recent opinion-editorial in the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Jesse Jackson argued NAFTA would only benefit global corporations big enough to move to Mexico, while workers, small businesses, family farmers and environmentalists in Mexico, the United States and Canada would suffer. "The major export of NAFTA is the same 'trickle-down economics' the U.S. public rejected in the '92 elections." Jackson cited a study by the Economic Policy Institute which reveals NAFTA will cost as many as 500,000 U.S. jobs as well as a report by Professor Edward Leamer of UCLA which found NAFTA would lead to a decrease in average U.S. wages. In addition, Jackson asserted, NAFTA will fuel the trend toward regional trading blocs and protectionism. Source: Jesse Jackson, "Trade and Thorns," LOS ANGELES TIMES. _________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary _________________________________________________________ INDIAN FARMERS PROTEST GATT RESTRICTIONS ON SEEDS About 500 farmers in India last week protested GATT proposals to protect seed patents developed by Western companies. Many Western companies lobbied for the provision because they claim developing countries, such as India, lack adequate copyright standards to prevent copying of products and information. Ten farmers were arrested for burning documents and damaging furniture of the Bangalore, India office of the U.S. based Cargill Inc. Source: "Protesting Farmers Damage Cargill Subsidiary in India," MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, January 1, 1993, p. 3D. _________________________________________________________ Resources: 1. The U.S. CITIZENS' ANALYSIS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT includes chapters on the environment, energy, agriculture, labor, investment and corporate rights, automotives, rules of origin, dispute resolution, pre-emption of state law, intellectual property, financial services and the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative. The analysis is available for US$4.00 from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (see address below). Also available on Econet conference, "trade.library". 2. WHICH WAY FOR THE AMERICAS: ANALYSIS OF NAFTA PROPOSALS AND THE IMPACT ON CANADA", a 114-page analysis of NAFTA by Canadian citizens groups is available from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). To order, contact CCPA at #804-251 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J6. Tel: (613) 563-1342. Fax: (613) 233-1458. _________________________________________________________ Other On-line Conferences: trade.strategy - a discussion of trade issues trade.library - a repository of trade information eai.news - a news summary of Latin American trade topics susag.news - a news summary of sustainable agriculture issues 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 EMail:kmander@igc.org _________________________________________________________