TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 129 Monday, July 19, 1993 Headlines: GREENPEACE ATTACKS NAFTA ENERGY PROVISIONS TEXAS AFL-CIO WILL SEEK DEFEAT OF NAFTA CHINA GETTING IN LINE WITH GATT BUT PRISON LABOR CONTINUES SUTHERLAND IN U.S. TO SEEK GATT SUPPORT INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AGREE TO FORM EAEC ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ GREENPEACE ATTACKS NAFTA ENERGY PROVISIONS The environmental group Greenpeace contends the NAFTA draft threatens efforts to create a U.S. energy policy that encourages energy efficiency and renewable resources. "In the simplest terms, the energy provisions of NAFTA represent an attempt by the Bush administration to lock in place the energy policies that have made us dependent upon dirty fuels," Greenpeace says in an open letter to the energy community. "By weaving these policies into the fabric of NAFTA, Bush sought to put them out of reach of successive administrations that may have very different notions about economic, social and environmental policy." U.S., Canadian and Mexican negotiators will meet in Ottawa beginning Wednesday in another attempt to reach side environmental and labor agreements. To obtain Greenpeace's in-depth analysis of NAFTA's impact on energy, "The North American Free Trade Agreement and Energy Trade," send $5 to: Greenpeace, 1436 U St., NW, Washington, DC, 20009. Source: "Open Letter of Concern on NAFTA to the Energy Community," GREENPEACE, July 1993; "NAFTA Negotiators to Meet Next Week in Ottawa," REUTER, July 16, 1993. ________________________________________________________ TEXAS AFL-CIO WILL SEEK DEFEAT OF NAFTA Texas AFL-CIO delegates passed a resolution Saturday to seek "fair trade, not free trade" in pressing for the defeat of NAFTA. Speaking at the unions' state convention in Irving, AFL-CIO President Joe Gunn said organized labor intends to make NAFTA a campaign issue. "If the congressional delegates have to vote on it and have to come right back home and tell us what they did to us, they're going to have a tough time ahead of them." The resolution said NAFTA would lead to job losses in the U.S. because of cheap labor in Mexico. "Not This NAFTA" is the new slogan for the campaign to defeat NAFTA. Source: "Texas AFL-CIO Vows 'Not This NAFTA,'" UPI, July 18, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ CHINA GETTING IN LINE WITH GATT BUT PRISON LABOR CONTINUES In an attempt to bring its investment policies in line with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, China may give foreign companies new access to its huge domestic market. "China is prepared to give foreign-funded enterprises the same treatment as its domestic businesses so they can compete on an equal footing," said Jiao Sufen, director general of the foreign investment administration at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. The tradeoff for foreign companies is that they will probably lose their special tax privileges. Beijing is considering a new unified tax system that would treat Chinese and foreign companies equally. Meanwhile, a report in today's NEW YORK TIMES suggests China is still using prison labor to manufacture goods for export. The United States and China reached an agreement last year that was supposed to halt the exports, but American officials are often prohibited from visiting suspected prisons. Human rights groups have sought a ban on Chinese prison exports because of the high number of political prisoners and the strenuous work conditions in the prisons. Prisoners often receive little or no pay while being forced to work more than 12 hours a day in unsafe conditions. Sources: "China Considering New Rules for Foreign Companies," REUTER, July 17, 1993; Nicholas D. Kristof, "Export of Prison Goods Seems to Continue," NEW YORK TIMES, July 19, 1993. ________________________________________________________ SUTHERLAND IN U.S. TO SEEK GATT SUPPORT GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland flew to Washington, D.C. Sunday to consolidate White House and congressional support for the Uruguay Round of trade talks. "I intend to maintain close contact with governments and legislators in major countries participating in the Round," he told reporters before departing. Sutherland formally relaunched negotiations last week following a major market-access agreement between the United States, Japan, Canada and the European Community. He hailed President Bill Clinton and the other leaders for reaching the accord. "Now we need to know how that high-level political support is going to be translated into further action on the U.S. side." France is seeking a joint meeting of the General Affairs and Farm Councils in September as part of an effort to reopen agriculture trade negotiations in GATT. "Now that we see a breakthrough in market access, now it's time to reopen negotiations on agriculture," France's European Affairs Minister Alain Lamassoure told the General Affairs Council Monday. Lamassoure said France seeks a "more balanced agreement," one that does not go beyond reforms of the EC's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). As recently as last week, EC Farm Commissioner Rene Steichen rejected a reopening of the talks, claiming last November's EC-U.S. farm accord was compatible with CAP reforms. Belgian Foreign Minister Willy Claes, whose country holds the rotating EC presidency, said he would examine the French idea. Sources: Robert Evans, "GATT Chief to Urge U.S. Backing for Trade Treaty," REUTER, July 18, 1993; "France Seeks General Affairs, Farm Council Meeting on GATT," REUTER, July 19, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Other Trade News ________________________________________________________ INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AGREE TO FORM EAEC Indonesian President Suharto and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad agreed on Saturday to promote the formation of an East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC). The EAEC would link the six- member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) with China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It would probably exclude key Pacific Rim trading nations such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Source: Bill Tarrant, "Malaysia, Indonesia to Promote East Asian Trade Group," REUTER, July 17, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Editor: 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 ________________________________________________________