TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 134 Monday, July 26, 1993 Headlines: AG COMMITTEE TO ANNOUNCE "AG FOR NAFTA" COALITION NRDC URGES COMPLIANCE WITH NRDC RULING ASEAN MINISTERS FAIL TO SPEED UP PROGRESS GATT ON THE AGENDA AT BRITISH-FRENCH SUMMIT ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ AG COMMITTEE TO ANNOUNCE "AG FOR NAFTA" COALITION House Agriculture Committee Chair Kika de la Garza (D-Texas) and Representative Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), the committee's ranking Republican, will announce today the formation of AG FOR NAFTA, a private-sector coalition of farm organizations and agricultural businesses created to rally congressional support for the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Clinton administration, meanwhile, is preparing to launch its own campaign in support of the free trade pact. "We need to get the American people to understand what NAFTA really does," said Robert Rubin, director of the White House's National Economic Council. Clinton is expected to name Chicago lawyer William Daley to coordinate the campaign, which will involve public speeches and television talk shows as well as lobbying Congress. U.S., Canadian and Mexican negotiators last week said they made progress in their efforts to establish supplemental accords to NAFTA. But they still did not agree on how to penalize nations that violate their own environmental and labor laws. "We are not ready to announce that we've had breakthroughs or final decisions on any of these issues," said U.S. negotiator Rufus Yerxa. Sources: "Agriculture Committee Leaders to Announce Formation of 'Ag for NAFTA' on July 26," COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE NEWS RELEASE, July 22, 1993; Donna Smith, "White House Gears Up to Win Support for NAFTA," REUTER, July 25, 1993; Anne Swardson, "Progress Reported on NAFTA; Enforcing Pact Is Sticking Point," WASHINGTON POST, July 24, 1993. ________________________________________________________ NRDC URGES COMPLIANCE WITH NAFTA RULING The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sent U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor a letter last week urging him to begin preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for NAFTA. NRDC said the Clinton administration's decision to appeal a court decision requiring an EIS "will undercut all of your efforts (to) take the environmental dimensions of the trade agreement into account, and to fashion strong environmental safeguards for NAFTA." The letter stated, "We believe there is no fundamental conflict between the Administration's commitments to environmental protection and trade liberalization," and said the administration could comply with its legal obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and still maintain its schedule for sending NAFTA to Congress. Source: NRDC Letter to USTR Mickey Kantor. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ ASEAN MINISTERS FAIL TO SPEED UP PROGRESS At its annual meeting in Singapore on Saturday, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reported some progress towards forming a regional common market, but analysts said it failed to speed up the pace. "While considerable lip-service continues to be paid to the need for quick implementation of AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area), tangible signs of progress remain limited," said Sanjoy Chowdhurry, Merrill Lynch's chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN foreign ministers reached a last-minute compromise on the future of the East Asian Economic Caucus (EAEC). EAEC would be within the larger Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, of which the U.S., Japan and Australia are members, but it would be able to meet outside the context of APEC. The United States had opposed the EAEC, arguing it could become a protectionist trading bloc. ASEAN foreign ministers also called for a "strong political commitment by all parties" to resolve the Uruguay Round of GATT talks. Sources: Ajoy Sen, "ASEAN Fails to Accelerate Forming Common Market," REUTER, July 25, 1993; K.T. Arasu, "China, Japan Seen as Crucial for Asian-Only Group," REUTER, July 25, 1993; "ASEAN Compromises on Trade Group," FINANCIAL TIMES, July 26, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT ON THE AGENDA AT BRITISH-FRENCH SUMMIT Today's British-French summit in London will focus more on ceremony than specific agreements. "British-French relations ... have got very much better," said one English official. "I think what this summit will do is to confirm and demonstrate that improvement." Among the agenda items are the long-delayed GATT talks and following up the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Tokyo. The two countries will also discuss the war in the former Yugoslavia, European Community issues, Iraq and Russia. Meanwhile, the British-North American Committee, which is made up of business, labor and academic leaders from the United States, Canada and Great Britain, urged U.S. President Clinton to do all that he can to "insure a successful completion" of the Uruguay Round. In a policy statement sent to Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and UK Prime Minister John Major, the Committee said that "if the current GATT Round negotiations fail, we believe that a unique opportunity to reform and modernize the world trading system will have been lost." Source: Sue Baker, "Anglo-French Summit to Set Seal on New Close Ties," REUTER, July 25, 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 ________________________________________________________