TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume II Number 18 Friday, January 29, 1993 _________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary _________________________________________________________ ESPY DOUBTS GATT WILL BE COMPLETED BY MARCH U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy said he doubted General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations would be completed prior to the March expiration of U.S. fast-track negotiating authority. In an interview on USDA radio, Espy said he hoped a deal could be reached under fast track, which limits Congressional members to a yes or no vote with no amendments, but he added, "I just don't believe it's going to happen." Espy said he will work with U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor to ensure that U.S. farm interests are protected in trade talks. He cited some progress with the European Community on reducing internal farm supports and export subsidies, but he said difficulties remained on market access issues. France continues to resist implementation of November's U.S.-EC oilseeds agreement. Agriculture Minister Jean-Pierre Soisson said yesterday that France -- Europe's largest agriculture producer -- will use "all the legal means in its power" to block the pact if the European Commission asks EC members to approve the deal. The accord, which is one of the keys to completing GATT, would limit the amount of EC land used for oilseed production. USTR Kantor will meet with his EC counterpart, Leon Brittan, February 11. Kantor has been the top U.S. trade negotiator for less than two weeks and already he has disappointed many GATT supporters by voicing concerns about the pact. During his confirmation hearings before the Senate Finance Committee, Kantor said, "I've heard three or four times -- no agreement is better than a bad agreement." In other U.S. agriculture news, Espy said he was searching for ways to resume grain trade with Russia. "If we allow the suspension of our trade to continue for much longer, it will begin to disrupt our market domestically and certainly internationally, and this is not something I would like to see." The USDA's loan guarantee program suspended Russia November 30 for falling behind on $245 million in payments. Source: "U.S. Ag Sec Espy Doubts Chance for Quick GATT Deal," REUTER, January 27, 1993; "Espy Says Working to Resume Russia Grain Trade," REUTER, January 28, 1993; "France Restates Threat to Veto US-EC Oilseed Deal," REUTER, January 28, 1993; Peter Behr, "At GATT Talks, Motion Is Tabled; Time Slips Away as Trade Negotiators Await Signal From U.S.," WASHINGTON POST, January 29, 1993. _________________________________________________________ Other Trade News CANADA, OTHERS THREATEN DUTIES ON US STEEL Canada, Japan, the European Community and other nations severely criticized a preliminary U.S. Commerce Department decision to apply stiff duties on $2 billion worth of steel imports from 19 countries. The Canadian government Wednesday responded by slapping duties averaging about 13 percent on $20 million worth of U.S. steel. "Actions by the United States industry causes our industry to take actions against them and the result is a very, very counter- productive trade war," said Canadian Trade Minister Michael Wilson. EC External Economic Affairs Commissioner Leon Brittan called the U.S. action "unacceptable," but said it should not be considered an indication of trade policy under the Clinton Administration. U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown said the action was dictated by legal procedure. He said the Commerce Department would make its final ruling between April 12 and mid-June. Germany's steel trade association urged its government and the European Community to react strongly to the ruling, which it called protectionist. British steel officials vowed to contest the U.S. action to the International Trade Commission, an independent U.S. body. In Tokyo, a Foreign Ministry official expressed bewilderment at the U.S. action and said U.S. steel problems stem from domestic rather than international causes. The tariffs on Japanese steel are not as severe as those imposed on Britain, Spain and Brazil, whose duties are 109 percent, or Mexico, Poland and Romania, whose duties are between 69 and 76 percent. The U.S. action comes at a time when steel producers around the globe are struggling. World steel consumption has dropped from a peak of 649 million tons in 1989 to about 607 million tons last year. Source: "Canada Retaliates for U.S. Steel Ruling, Trade War Brewing," UPI, January 27, 1993; Peter Kenny, "Japan Puzzled and Resentful at U.S. Anti-Dumping Move," UPI, January 29, 1993; Andrew Baxter, "A Controversial Sense of Duty," FINANCIAL TIMES, January 29, 1993, p. 13; "Brittan Says U.S. Steel Move Not New Policy Signal," REUTER, January 29, 1993; Ferdinand Protzman, "Europe Threatens Retaliation on Steel," NEW YORK TIMES, January 29, 1993, p. C2; Nancy Dunne, "US Not Planning A Steel War Yet," FINANCIAL TIMES, January 29, 1993, p. 5. _________________________________________________________ Resources: CROSS-BORDER LINKS: A DIRECTORY OF ORGANIZATIONS IN CANADA, MEXICO, AND THE UNITED STATES, edited by Ricardo Hernandez and Edith Sanchez. A listing of the activities and resources of 260 North American organizations. Broken down into eight categories: Networks for Fair Trade, Labor, Environment, Advocacy Institutions, Academic Institutions, Government Agencies, Business Groups, and Electronic Networks. Published by the Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center, Box 4506, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87196. _________________________________________________________ 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 _________________________________________________________