TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 197 Wednesday, November 3, 1993 Headlines: CLINTON MAKING DEALS TO SECURE NAFTA VOTES NAFTA IMPLEMENTATION LANGUAGE COMPLETE UNDECIDED LAWMAKERS LEANING TOWARD 'NO' VOTE POLL SHOWS MOST JAPANESE FAVOR OPEN RICE MARKETS FRENCH COALITION CALLS FOR MORE OPEN GATT TALKS ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ CLINTON MAKING DEALS TO SECURE NAFTA VOTES President Bill Clinton will officially submit NAFTA implementing legislation to Congress today. In a last-ditch push for the trade pact, Clinton reportedly has been offering deals to undecided lawmakers to persuade them to vote "yes" on the trade pact. "There's a lot of horse-trading and head-counting going on," said White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. Clinton needs the support of at least 50 more House members to secure NAFTA ratification. Clinton's current "horse-trading" efforts include a provision to prohibit duty-free imports of Mexican sugar. Legislators from sugar- producing states worry that Mexico would switch to corn syrup for domestic use so that it could increase sugar exports to the U.S., depressing prices and capturing business. Lobbyists believe that a sugar deal could clinch eight to 10 pro-NAFTA votes in the House. Mexico so far has rejected the proposal and trade analysts say limiting sugar imports would violate NAFTA's basic principles. "The Mexicans can say this is a breach of the agreement, and they would be right," said Julius L. Katz, chief NAFTA negotiator under the Bush administration. In 1990, the U.S. imported less than 500 metric tons of sugar from Mexico, while exporting 250,000 metric tons to Mexico. Sources: "Clinton-NAFTA," AP, November 3, 1993; Ann Devroy, Peter Behr, "Sugar States Targeted in NAFTA Drive; Clinton Considers Plan for Limiting Imports," WASHINGTON POST, November 3, 1993; Bob Davis, "Clinton to Propose NAFTA Bill Offering Trade Relief to Some U.S. Industries," WALL STREET JOURNAL, November 3, 1993; "Agricultural Statistics," USDA, 1991. ________________________________________________________ NAFTA IMPLEMENTATION LANGUAGE COMPLETE The NAFTA implementing legislation includes a number of provisions that address industry concerns, ranging from citrus to broomcorn producers. The bill also directs the Customs Department to make a $10 million grant to create a Texas-based Center for the Study of Trade in the Western Hemisphere. The implementation bill moves on to Congress today for final review before the House vote November 17. Under fast-track procedures, the bill may not be amended once it is introduced. Sources: "Ways and Means and Senate Finance Staff Reach Agreement on NAFTA Recommendations," BUREAU OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS, November 2, 1993; Ann Devroy, Peter Behr, "Sugar States Targeted in NAFTA Drive; Clinton Considers Plan for Limiting Imports," WASHINGTON POST, November 3, 1993. ________________________________________________________ UNDECIDED LAWMAKERS LEANING TOWARD 'NO' VOTE House members are expected to reject NAFTA by a wide margin, according to a poll conducted by the BUREAU OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS. Since the first BNA poll in early September, BNA reports that undecided Democrats are moving by a four-to-one ratio in opposition to the accord, while three out of five undecided Republicans have indicated that they are also leaning against NAFTA. Of those lawmakers who were undecided in September, 33 have since come out strongly against NAFTA. Only 11 have said they will vote for the pact. BNA projects that if the 112 still-undecided House members follow the lead of now committed members, the House would reject the accord by a 278 to 156 margin. Today's edition of CONGRESS DAILY reports that President Clinton's revenue-raising provisions in NAFTA implementing language could encourage as many as six to 12 House Republicans to vote against the trade pact. Representative Thomas Ewing (R-Illinois) said as many as a dozen Republicans would not vote for NAFTA out of fear the revenue increases would be viewed as tax increases and that their votes for NAFTA could hurt them in next year's elections. Source: "Projections From BNA Poll Suggest NAFTA Will Fail in House by Wide Margin," BUREAU OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS, November 2, 1993; "NAFTA Bill on Way, GOP Support Wanes," CONGRESS DAILY, November 3, 1993. ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ POLL SHOWS MOST JAPANESE FAVOR OPEN RICE MARKETS A recent poll by the daily ASAHI SHIMBUN newspaper shows that 62 percent of Japanese citizens favor lifting Japan's 45-year ban on foreign rice imports. The survey of 3,000 Japanese residents was released as Japanese Farm Minister Eijiro Hata discussed the ban with GATT members in Geneva. Rumors have circulated that Japan would be willing to open its rice market if a GATT conclusion nears. "We have to prepare for the fact that it might not be possible to exempt rice from the GATT tariff plan," hinted Motoo Abe, a senior legislator in Japan's ruling coalition party. Sources: "Most Japanese Favor Open Rice Markets - Poll," REUTER, November 2, 1993; "Japan Seen Moving to Accept GATT Rice Import Ban," REUTER, November 1, 1993. ________________________________________________________ FRENCH COALITION CALLS FOR MORE OPEN GATT TALKS A coalition of French trade unions, farmers and consumer groups are demanding a moratorium on the current Uruguay Round of GATT talks to allow those not involved in the closed-door negotiations time to review current provisions. "The real problem with the talks under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is the lack of democracy," said Francis Thomas, spokesperson for the Alliance of Farmers, Ecologists and Consumers. "All the talks are held in secret. People do not know what happens during the negotiations and yet we are asked to blindly applaud the agreements." Members of the coalition also contend that developing countries are completely ignored in the negotiating process. "What is happening with GATT is that developing countries have no power to participate actively in the talks and are almost obliged to obey the rules laid out by the EC and the United States," complained Gabriel Dewalle, Secretary General of the French Farmers' Confederation. The coalition is pressing the French government to veto the proposed GATT accord in order to open the door for "democratic debate." Source: "French Trade Unions, Consumers Attack GATT Secrecy," SUNS, October 27, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Editors: Gigi DiGiacomo 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 ________________________________________________________