Trade Week in Review and Publications September 4-10, 1993 Volume 2 Number 161 Headlines: Republicans worried about NAFTA's future Proponents want Clinton to promote NAFTA Perot continues attack on NAFTA Canadian elections could affect NAFTA Opposition in Daley's home-state of Illinois Sutherland, Balladur discuss farm deal, GATT German businesses urge government to stick to Blair House deal Valenti criticizes GATT for leaving out copyright laws China wants immediate entry to GATT ___________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ___________________________________________________________ -Republicans worried about NAFTA's future- Republicans are becoming increasingly concerned about the prospects of passing the North American Free Trade Agreement. They say many House Republicans, whom President Clinton is counting on to pass NAFTA, are shifting from supporting the pact to saying they are undecided. "I am very, very shaken by the intensity of my colleagues' sense of being beleaguered on this issue during the (August) recess," said House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R- Georgia). "We are 40 votes weaker than I thought when I got to town on Monday." Ohio Representative John R. Kasich, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, says he is now undecided on NAFTA after "vulnerable workers" spoke to him during the recess. -Proponents want Clinton to promote NAFTA- Supporters of NAFTA want President Clinton to take a more active role in pitching the trade pact. Representative David Dreier (R- California) told administration officials last week that many Republicans feel that Clinton is not as committed to NAFTA as he should be. Clinton is expected to launch a campaign for NAFTA next week by signing side agreements to protect workers and the environment. Several Cabinet secretaries will travel around the country to promote NAFTA after testifying on the treaty next week to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Administration officials denied they would put off a vote on NAFTA until next year, as an article in the NEW YORK TIMES suggested. "We're committed to it firmly," said White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty. -Perot continues attack on NAFTA- Former presidential candidate Ross Perot continues to denounce NAFTA as a threat to American jobs. Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Dallas Thursday, Perot showed slides of ramshackle homes of Mexican autoworkers and read song lyrics to argue that the trade treaty would send U.S. jobs to Mexico. Perot told the broadcasters their profits would decrease as U.S. workers lose their jobs. "They buy the products you advertise over your stations," he said. "If they're out of work, you can't buy stuff. I rest my case." Perot said contributions from political action committees were part of the reason many Republicans support NAFTA. -Canadian elections could affect NAFTA- Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell is expected to announce next week that general elections will be held October 25. Campbell's Conservative party is a staunch supporter of NAFTA, but recent polls show the Liberals are about even with the Conservatives. Liberal leader Jean Chretien has vowed to seek changes to 1989's Canada- U.S. Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA. "If the forthcoming Canadian elections result in a change of government, there is a potential scenario of considerable conflict with the United States," said Sidney Weintraub, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Meanwhile, Senator Ernest Hollings (D-South Carolina), a strong opponent of NAFTA, urged President Clinton to encourage Mexico to ask former President Carter to monitor next year's presidential election in Mexico. NAFTA "only promotes the Mexican status quo -- a status quo filled with abuses of human rights, electoral fraud and the tight control of power," Hollings said in a letter to Clinton. "The embrace of free-market economic reforms should not justify continued political repression." -Opposition in Daley's home-state of Illinois- William Daley, President Clinton's NAFTA "czar," apparently has had some impact in persuading politicians in his home state of Illinois to support the controversial free trade agreement. A recent newspaper report indicated that Illinois Democratic Senator Carol Moseley-Braun may be leaning in favor of NAFTA. But a CHICAGO TRIBUNE poll conducted the last week of August revealed considerable citizen opposition to the trade pact. Forty-two percent of respondents said they opposed NAFTA, compared to 38 percent in favor. Sources: Ann Devroy, Kenneth J. Cooper, "House Republicans Warn Clinton," WASHINGTON POST, September 10, 1993; Dick Kelsey, "Perot Shows Slides, Reads Song Lyrics to Condemn NAFTA," UPI, September 9, 1993; "U.S. Denies Report Suggesting NAFTA Go-Slow," REUTER, September 9, 1993; Terence Hunt, "Clinton-NAFTA," AP, September 9, 1993; Robert Kozak, "Canada Election Raises Threat of NAFTA Conflict," REUTER, September 9, 1993. ___________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ___________________________________________________________ -Sutherland, Balladur discuss farm deal, GATT- GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland told French leaders on Wednesday that the EC-U.S. farm trade agreement, known as the Blair House accord, could not be renegotiated. "If the EC were to reject Blair House I can't see how we could reach a general agreement to the Uruguay Round," Sutherland said. Prime Minister Edouard Balladur was irritated by Sutherland's remarks that there was a "veritable hysteria" in the French countryside at the prospect of a GATT accord. Balladur said France would not be pressured to complete the Uruguay Round of GATT by December and threatened to veto the agriculture deal if it is not modified. French Industry and Trade Minister Gerard Longuet said eight of the 12 EC nations support France's stance on agriculture issues. A French newspaper called Sutherland irascible, inflexible, swaggering, contemptuous, withdrawn and intolerant. FRANCE-SOIR newspaper pinned the labels on a photograph of the GATT chief, saying a French psychologist and morphologist had read the characteristics on his face. -German businesses urge government to stick to Blair House deal- Two of Germany's leading business federations urged Chancellor Helmut Kohl to insist on the terms of the Blair House accord in talks with French leaders. "The consequence of a rejection of the Blair House accord would of necessity be a failure of the GATT round," wrote the presidents of the Federation of German Industry (BDI) and the German Federation of Chambers of Commerce (DIHT). -Valenti criticizes GATT for leaving out copyright laws- Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), criticized GATT for excluding copyright industries from negotiations. "As of this moment, there's been no serious negotiations on audiovisual, and that's unthinkable," Valenti said. He said the MPAA would "attempt to defeat in Congress" any GATT deal that excluded industries involving films and sound recordings. -China wants immediate entry to GATT- China should be readmitted immediately into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), said a member of the Foreign Affairs committee of the National People's Congress. "China's status as a contracting party to GATT should be resumed at the earliest possible date because it is unwise and abnormal to exclude an economically vibrant power with huge market potential," Tong Zhiguang said. Tong said China had taken significant steps to improve its intellectual property laws. Sources: "French Paper Draws Unflattering Portrait of Sutherland," REUTER, September 9, 1993; "German Industry Urges Firmness on Blair House Deal," REUTER, September 9, 1993; David Buchan, "Farm Trade Deal Cannot Be Renegotiated, France Told," FINANCIAL TIMES, September 9, 1993; "China Wants Immediate Entry to GATT," REUTER, September 9, 1993; "Peter Mikelbank, "Valenti Irked by Nix of Pix by GATT Talks," DAILY VARIETY, September 9, 1993. ___________________________________________________________ Recent Publications on International Trade ___________________________________________________________ For copies of the following resources, contact the authors or organizations listed. "The Labor Side Accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement: An Endorsement of Abuse of Worker Rights in Mexico," Jerome Levinson, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE, September 1993. 20 pages. 1730 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 775-8810. $5. "Multilateral Trading Arrangements After the Uruguay Round," GERMAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, March 1993. 27 pages. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. $3.50. In this paper, the German government concludes that a permanent Multilateral Trade Organization (MTO) established by the GATT would offer the best guarantee of a transparent, efficient, and open world trading system with legal stability. "People Against Immoral Debt Newsletter," FREEDOM FROM DEBT COALITION, Vol. 2, No. 12, January 1993. 12 pages. UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations, UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines. Fax: (632) 96-2656. Contact organization for prices. This newsletter monitors the international debt crisis, its impact on citizens, and current government solutions to resolving the crisis. "Blueprint for a Green Economy," D. Pearce, EARTHSCAN PUBLICATIONS, 1989. 192 pages. 120 Pentonville Rd., London N1 9JN. (44) 071-278-0433. Fax: (44) 071-278-1142. #8.95. "NAFTA: Economic Modernization vs. Social Modernity," Sergio Zermeno, INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES SOCIALES, 1993. 9 pages. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. $1.50. This paper argues that what has been called modernization or globalization in Mexico from the 1980s onward has turned into a furious attack against the actors of Mexican modernity: unions, public sector workers, micro sectors of the bourgeoisie and the rest of the working class. "From Global Capitalism to Economic Justice," Arjun Makhjani, THE NEW ECONOMICS FOUNDATION, 1992. 2nd Floor, Universal House, 88- 94 Wentworth St., London E1 7SA. (44) 071-377-5696. #14.95. "Obstruction, Obfuscation and Oligarchy in Ozone Negotiations," Rajiv Kaul, HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, Summer 1993. 20 pages. Harvard University, Kennedy Hall, Room A, Cambridge, MA 02138. (617) 495-9607. Contact publisher for prices. This article illustrates the difficulties and disadvantages that developing countries face in entering ozone negotiations with industrialized countries due to the dependence of negotiators on advanced Western scientific research. "Power, Poverty, Economic Integration and Bretton Woods," David C. Korten, PEOPLE-CENTERED DEVELOPMENT FORUM, April 1993. 2 pages. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. $1. ___________________________________________________________ Editors: Kai Mander and Chirag Mehta 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 ___________________________________________________________