TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 132 Thursday, July 22, 1993 Headlines: MEXICO'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROMISES QUESTIONED LAWMAKER SAYS NAFTA WILL NOT OVERRIDE TRANSPORT LAWS FRANCE WANTS STRICTER DUMPING RULES ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ MEXICO'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROMISES QUESTIONED The Mexican government has been accused of withholding information from its citizens on a number of issues, but a recent acid spill off the coast of Mexico increases questions concerning the government's credibility in making environmental and labor promises under the North American Free Trade Agreement. A Norwegian tanker, grounded 100 yards off the Mexican coast, may have leaked as much as 4,400 tons of acid since last month. But the Mexican government denies that any acid escaped the tanker and therefore has not taken measures to clean up the spill. "I don't think there's much, if any, sulfuric acid left on board," said Guy Wood, a spokesperson with the Florida-based salvage company that inspected the tanker. Eight fisherman were burned by acid in water, and many birds, fish and turtles have washed ashore dead. Analysts agree that if a spill occurred it would be washed out to sea and untraceable now. This recent event has raised serious concern among environmental groups, which argue that Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari will not keep promises to protect the environment under NAFTA. "I am shocked by all the disinformation and confusion," said Homero Aridjis, president of a Mexico City-based environmental group. "This is a moral disaster for the government of Mexico." Salinas has campaigned hard to convince U.S. environmental groups and Congress that NAFTA will not contribute to environmental degradation. The United States, Canada and Mexico are currently negotiating supplemental labor and environmental accords to address these issues. However, Mexico and Canada will not commit to binding enforcement mechanisms, such as sanctions. Mexican negotiators argue that sanctions, as proposed by the United States, would infringe on national sovereignty. Salinas said side accords, based on government promises, should be enforced through political pressure rather than sanctions. Sources: Tim Golden, "A Mystery For Mexico: Was Acid Spilled at Sea?" NEW YORK TIMES, July 22, 1993; Tod Robberson, "Mexico's Credibility Questioned; Latest Episode Involves Beached Tanker - Did Storm Spill Acid?" WASHINGTON POST, July 22, 1993. ________________________________________________________ LAWMAKER SAYS NAFTA WILL NOT OVERRIDE TRANSPORT LAWS Representative Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV), chair of a House Public Works and Transportation subcommittee, said NAFTA will not change national transportation and trucking laws. Rahall told members of the Association of American Railroads that there is no provision in the free trade accord that requires changing the U.S. truck safety standards or size and weight criteria. Several citizens groups, including Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH) worry that NAFTA will lead to a lowering of U.S. standards for size, weight, driver licensing and qualifications to meet Mexican levels. CRASH has mounted an extensive campaign against longer combination vehicles (LCV's). CRASH claims the current U.S. ban on LCV's could be lifted if NAFTA is passed. Rahall said that the public works committee will not lift the ban. "Nobody, and I mean nobody, has even suggested that Congress lift the LCV freeze," Rahall said. Longer vehicles pose greater threats to highway safety due to size and operation difficulties. Source: William DiBenedetto, "Lawmaker: NAFTA Unlikely to Alter Truck Standards," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, July 19, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ FRANCE WANTS STRICTER DUMPING RULES France will present a proposal to the European Commission next week aimed at broadening the EC's powers against unfair dumping. The proposal reportedly allows the EC to take unilateral action independent of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The plan is similar to the U.S. Super 301 Trade Law, which allows the United States to take unilateral action, through tariffs or sanctions, against countries suspected of dumping. The United States recently imposed anti-dumping tariffs on steel imports from 19 countries, six of which were EC members. Many GATT members have criticized the United States for its use of the Super 301, which they say violates free trade rules. Edouard Balladur, France's prime minister, said the plan would make anti-dumping procedures "more rapid and automatic and less prone to political interference." The plan would set "commercial defenses" by: %Setting a tighter timetable for the Commission to follow in receiving anti-dumping complaints, opening inquiries and imposing provisional duties; %Giving the Commission less discretion to end dumping investigations by accepting promises from exporters to raise their prices in the EC market; %Removing reference to GATT procedures in the EC's 1984 legislation that prevent the EC from taking unilateral action against other GATT members. Source: David Buchan, "Paris to Wheel Out Big Trade Guns for EC," FINANCIAL TIMES, July 22, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Events: ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH PETER JENNINGS will air a segment on the environmental concerns at the Mexican border, July 27 or 28 (check local listings for time and date). The segment will examine border concerns in light of Judge Richey's decision to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before NAFTA is submitted to Congress. ________________________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________________________