TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 156 Wednesday, September 1, 1993 ________________________________________________________ HEADLINES: Former Presidents Asked to Campaign For NAFTA Mexican Environmental Group Files Complaint AFL-CIO Says "Good" Chance NAFTA Will Be Defeated Brussels Backs France On GATT Farm Stance India Will Maintain Agriculture Subsidies For Farmers ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ FORMER PRESIDENTS ASKED TO CAMPAIGN FOR NAFTA The Clinton administration has invited five former presidents to Washington September 14 to boost support for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Former presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon have all been asked to take part, however only Carter and Ford have committed. "I think they want to be supportive of this," said an administration official. Reagan has declined the offer, Nixon said he is considering the trip and Bush, who originally crafted NAFTA, has not announced plans to attend. The Clinton administration has come under much criticism by NAFTA supporters who complain that the president has not made a strong effort to promote the free trade accord to Congress or the American public. Source: Gwen Ifill, "Ex-Presidents Asked to Help Push North American Trade Agreement," NEW YORK TIMES, September 1, 1993. ________________________________________________________ MEXICAN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP FILES COMPLAINT The National Association of Ecological Organizations in Mexico City filed a complaint August 30 similar to the U.S. environmental lawsuit that resulted in a federal restraining order prohibiting U.S. implementation of NAFTA until an environmental impact statement (EIS) is completed. However, Matilda Arteaga of the Mexican Workers' Front, a labor union opposed to NAFTA, says the Mexican complaint is not likely to impede NAFTA, despite similar EIS requirements in Mexico. "It would be unrealistic to say that such a complaint could serve to stop the agreement in its tracks," Arteaga said. "The courts are less independent here." The complaint must be answered within 15 days by the Mexican attorney general for the environment. Sources: "Mexican Environmental Group Files Suit Challenging NAFTA, Outlook Considered Dim," BUREAU OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT DAILY, September 1, 1993. ________________________________________________________ AFL-CIO SAYS "GOOD" CHANCE NAFTA WILL BE DEFEATED Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, one of America's largest labor unions, said chances are "good" that Congress will reject NAFTA and that he will continue to lobby hard against the pact. "NAFTA was a poison pill left over from the previous administration," Kirkland said. "We will oppose it." In an effort to combat NAFTA, the AFL-CIO has been in contact with lawmakers and has created local committees to oppose the pact. Kirkland said his labor union would "go for broke" in opposition to the trade pact. Source: "U.S. Labor Unions See 'Good' Chance to Defeat NAFTA," REUTER, August 31, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ BRUSSELS BACKS FRANCE ON GATT FARM STANCE The Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade hit another stumbling block yesterday when Belgium joined France in opposition to the U.S.-EC farm deal. Willy Claes, Belgium's foreign minister, said after meeting with French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur that he had "no objection in principle" to renegotiating the U.S.-EC farm accord. Belgium is open to "a certain renegotiation" of the transatlantic farm deal, Claes said. The farm accord, negotiated last fall in an attempt to conclude the current GATT round, has been firmly opposed by France for a number of reasons. French farmers argue that the U.S.-EC agriculture deal will displace many French cereal and feed producers. The United States and most other EC member states have rejected calls for a new farm draft, however France, now backed by Belgium and Germany, has already begun circulating proposals for a renegotiated farm deal. In one of the documents, France demands that existing EC cereal and beef stocks should be exempt from the farm deal and that the 21 percent cut in subsidized exports over six years should apply only to future EC production. The other document, outlined yesterday by a French farm ministry spokesperson, focuses on corn gluten feed regulations. France argued that the U.S. has been disguising starch exports by incorporating them in corn gluten feed. Corn gluten imports are allowed a maximum of five percent starch, however European customs report corn gluten shipments from the U.S. with a starch content of up to 15 percent. "To be acceptable, the draft agreement needs to be modified," stated France in the memorandum. Sources: David Buchan, "Brussels Backing For French Farm Campaign," FINANCIAL TIMES, September 1, 1993; "France Submits Memorandum to EC on Corn Gluten," REUTER, August 31, 1993. ________________________________________________________ INDIA WILL MAINTAIN AGRICULTURE SUBSIDIES FOR FARMERS The Indian government announced yesterday that it would not cut state subsidies for its farmers, as required under GATT. "We are very clear on important things like agriculture which we are not going to compromise on," said Pranab Mukherjee, one of India's cabinet members. "India will not rush into signing anything in the GATT proposals which would adversely affect farmers." Meanwhile, campaigners began a month-long walk in India yesterday to protest Cargill's proposed construction of a salt plant in Kandala. Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao planned to give Cargill 15,000 acres of land on which to build a salt plant. Protesters accuse Rao of selling out to foreign multinationals and claim that Cargill's $25 million salt plant will displace local salt producers. Cargill says the plant is designed to produce salt for export only and will provide 2,000 seasonal jobs to workers. More than 10,000 people are expected to march against Cargill. Sources: "Indian Group Starts March Against U.S. Company," REUTER, August 31, 1993; "India to Keep Agriculture Subsidies," REUTER, August 31, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Editor: Gigi Boivin 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 ________________________________________________________