TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 130 Tuesday, July 20, 1993 Headlines: UAW PROTESTS NEW YORK TIMES OVER NAFTA AD SPACE CBO ISSUES REPORT: NO IMMEDIATE JOB LOSS UNDER NAFTA CLINTON EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE NAFTA CZAR EC AGREES TO CONSIDER FRENCH REQUEST FOR FARM MEETING ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ UAW PROTESTS NEW YORK TIMES OVER NAFTA AD SPACE The United Auto Workers (UAW) and other trade unions will demonstrate outside offices of the NEW YORK TIMES Company today because they were refused advertising space in today's "advertorial" promoting the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA opponents were prohibited from purchasing space in the special section. Trade unionists are expected to demonstrate at the newspaper's Detroit, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington offices. Source: "Trade Unions to Protest NY Times Offices," REUTER, July 19, 1993. _________________________________________________________ CBO ISSUES REPORT: NO IMMEDIATE JOB LOSS UNDER NAFTA In a report prepared for the Senate Finance Committee, the Congressional Budget Office concludes that NAFTA would not result in an immediate loss of U.S. jobs. The CBO estimates that in the short-run NAFTA would create 35,000 to 170,000 American jobs. "Contrary to some commonly expressed fears about NAFTA, there would not be a wholesale movement of manufacturers to Mexico to take advantage of the lower average wage," the report states. The study concludes that, at worst, 200,000 U.S. jobs could be lost over the next ten years. NAFTA opponents project as many as 550,000 U.S. jobs lost over ten years if NAFTA is implemented. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D- OH) criticized the CBO findings, saying, "American jobs are too important to be sacrificed on such weak analysis." Kaptur, who toured several U.S. plants that have relocated to Mexico this year, called into question the economic model used by the CBO and other assessments of NAFTA. "There is a tremendous lack of dependable information on NAFTA's employment effects," Kaptur said. Source: Michelle Mittelstadt, "Free-Trade-Jobs," AP, July 19, 1993. ________________________________________________________ CLINTON EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE NAFTA CZAR President Clinton is expected to appoint William Daley as the White House NAFTA coordinator. Daley's new position will be "short-term," just long enough to run "a national campaign to build support to pass NAFTA," reports the CHICAGO SUN TIMES. Clinton announced earlier this month that he would create at least one new position to promote legislative approval of the free trade accord. Daley served as Clinton's Illinois campaign chair and is currently an attorney with Mayer, Brown & Platt. Source: Lynn Sweet, "William Daley to Be Named Free-Trade Czar," CHICAGO SUM TIMES, July 20, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ EC AGREES TO CONSIDER FRENCH REQUEST FOR FARM MEETING The European Community agreed to review France's proposal to reopen negotiations with the United States over last November's EC- U.S. agriculture trade agreement. Alain Lamassoure, France's minister of European affairs, called for a joint meeting of EC farm and trade ministers to address problems in the current accord, which is seen as key to finalizing the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Lamassoure said the U.S.-EC farm accord needs to be renegotiated before global trade talks can move forward. "We want to avoid the difficulty of waiting until the end of 1993, when we would be led to reject a global agreement because the agriculture dossier would have to be modified," Lamassoure said. "We must face reality ... there is a problem between us ... we must reopen the farm dossier," reiterated French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. GATT members have put agriculture negotiations on hold, expecting that France would eventually accept the accord it has opposed since last November. "We won't continue to elude the difficult parts just to get a GATT deal by the end of 1993," said Juppe. He told EC ministers that agriculture talks should begin before September 15, three months before the target date to complete global trade talks. After meeting with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy yesterday, GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland said agriculture is crucial to completing the Uruguay Round. "There is no way of avoiding the fact that this issue will play a central part in the continuing negotiations during the period ahead," Sutherland said. "It (agriculture) is a central part for many of the players." Sutherland said he hopes to have a working agenda to conclude the Uruguay Round of GATT talks by the end of August. Sources: Lyndsay Griffiths, "New GATT Chief Sees End in Sight to Uruguay Round," REUTER, July 19, 1993; Bill Lamp, "France Pushes EC to Renegotiate Farm Deals," UPI, July 19, 1993; Peter Blackburn, "EC to Study French Request for Jumbo GATT Meeting," REUTER, July 19, 1993; Elizabeth D. Wise, "EC-Trade Talks," AP, July 19, 1993; "Agriculture Vital Issue in Talks - GATT's Sutherland," REUTER, July 19, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Resources: AMERICANS FOR ACTION has launched a nationwide campaign to build public protest and opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement. The group is urging all citizens who oppose NAFTA to call in and add their names to the National Petition Against NAFTA. The petition will be sent to President Clinton. The petition states: "The following Americans strongly disagree with the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico, and the U.S.'s eagerness of its signing! This is an economic war we cannot win without the loss of millions of American jobs! We must continue our efforts on rebuilding America, creating new jobs and cutting wasteful government spending. This is what Americans are truly interested in!" To join the petition call: 1-900-950-0619. Each call costs $3.55. ________________________________________________________ Editors: Gigi Boivin and 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 ________________________________________________________