TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 81 Monday, May 10, 1993 ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ POLL: NAFTA OPPOSITION GROWING IN UNITED STATES Opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement is growing in the United States, according to a recent Gallup poll. The survey, conducted in March for CNN and USA TODAY, found 63 percent of Americans opposed to the trade pact, up from 57 percent in September of last year. The poll also registered fewer Americans in favor of NAFTA. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they support the deal, down from 33 percent in September. Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada hope to complete NAFTA's side agreements by early June. In a press release, the Mexican embassy said the three sides will meet May 19-22 in Ottawa and again in Washington in early June in hopes the three legislatures will ratify NAFTA in time to implement it by January 1, 1994. Source: "Free Trade With Mexico," NATIONAL JOURNAL, May 1, 1993; "Final Touches to NAFTA Side Deals Expected in June," REUTER, May 7, 1993. ________________________________________________________ OPINION-EDITORIALS RIP PEROT FOR NAFTA OPPOSITION Recent news articles indicating that Ross Perot may launch a campaign against the North American Free Trade Agreement have set off a spate of opinion-editorials criticizing Perot and defending the trade pact. In today's NEW YORK TIMES, Don E. Newquist, chairman of the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), calls Perot's recent statements on the issue "misinformed, misleading and often simply untrue NAFTA-bashing." Newquist contends that "virtually every reputable study" concludes that NAFTA will create jobs in the United States and Mexico. Newquist says one study, often cited by Perot, finding that NAFTA will put more than 5.9 million U.S. jobs in jeopardy, is flawed because it does not take into account the benefits to companies of remaining in the United States. Newquist contends, "There is nothing preventing those jobs from being moved (to Mexico) right now, with or without NAFTA. Why are they still here?" In Sunday's WASHINGTON POST, Hobart Rowen uses many of the same arguments to defend NAFTA. Rowen recommends that NAFTA advocates admit there will be some pain felt under the agreement, and he encourages the Clinton Administration "to deal seriously with serious arguments -- as distinguished from the Perot fulminations -- raised by the responsible Citizen Trade Campaign against the NAFTA treaty as proposed by the Bush Administration." Source: Don E. Newquist, "Perot Is Dead Wrong on NAFTA," NEW YORK TIMES, May 10, 1993; Hobart Rowen, "NAFTA-Bashers Obscure The Truths of a Treaty," WASHINGTON POST, May 9, 1993. ________________________________________________________ LUMBER DECISION COULD LEAD TO EXPANDED PENALTIES Last week's binational panel ruling on softwood lumber could lead to expanded trade penalties into new areas of Canadian federal and provincial government policy. The Canada-U.S. panel ruled the U.S. Commerce Department had failed to justify its 6.5 percent tax on Canadian softwood lumber imports. While the Canadian government was happy with the decision, some experts are saying the decision leaves many policies vulnerable. In a dissent from the three-member majority, panel chairman Richard Dearden and panel member Paul Weiler argued the decision is "potentially applicable to every law, regulation or other measure adopted by a government." Under the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, binational panels are established to determine whether laws of either country are correctly and fairly applied in trade decisions. The U.S. claims that British Columbia's ban on certain log exports enables lumber producers on Canada's western coast to lower their prices and indirectly subsidize exports. Source: Calvin Woodward, "Lumber Victory Could Boomerang," GLOBE AND MAIL, May 8, 1993; Clyde H. Farnsworth, "Canada Wins a Victory on Its U.S. Lumber Trade," NEW YORK TIMES, May 8, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ CLINTON: U.S., EC AGREE TO WORK FOR PROGRESS IN GATT BY JULY President Bill Clinton said the United States and the European Community want to achieve "tangible progress" in GATT world trade negotiations by July's summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries. Speaking at a news conference with Danish Prime Minister Poul Rasmussen, whose country holds the European Community's rotating presidency, and EC Commission President Jacques Delors, Clinton said, "My guests and I are committed to wrapping up these negotiations by the end of the year. We've directed our negotiators to proceed urgently with other trading partners to restore momentum to the negotiations." The Group of Seven leading industrialized countries have made a breakthrough in the Uruguay Round a top goal of their July 7-9 meeting in Tokyo. However, France continues to reject an EC-U.S. accord to cut European farm subsidies. Prime Minister Edouard Balladur announced a $300 million aid package to French farmers Friday but denied the move indicates France is prepared to go along with current GATT proposals. Balladur said the aid package intends to help farmers adjust to changes in European agricultural policy and prepare for "a great international agreement on free trade." Luc Guyau, president of France's largest farm union, called the aid announcement "a first significant step." France's ambassador to Germany, Bertrand Dufourcq, told German radio on Sunday that France would continue to block the Uruguay Round. GATT supporters are hoping to convince Paris to reach an agreement in the long-running GATT negotiations. Dufourcq said France's new government would continue to defend French agriculture interests. Sources: "Clinton Hopes for Progress on GATT by G-7," REUTER, May 7, 1993; "French Ambassador Says Paris Still Blocking GATT," REUTER, May 9, 1993; "Clinton-Text," AP, May 7, 1993; Juliette Rouillon, "France Grants Aid Package to Farmers," REUTER, May , 1993. ________________________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________________________