TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume 2 Number 210 Monday, November 22, 1993 Headlines: U.S. TURNS ATTENTION TO GATT APEC PUSHES FOR GATT CONCLUSION MEXICO, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, CHILE ADMITTED TO APEC AFL-CIO: CLINTON MUST DISCOURAGE BUSINESSES FROM MOVING CHRETIEN CALLS FOR NEW SIDE AGREEMENTS IN NAFTA ________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ________________________________________________________ U.S. TURNS ATTENTION TO GATT Hoping to use the momentum of Congressional approval of NAFTA and the conference of Asia-Pacific leaders, U.S. President Bill Clinton has now turned his attention to completing world trade talks by December 15. U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor will meet with his European counterpart, Leon Brittan, for two days of talks aimed at making progress in the long-stalled Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. But French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur said Sunday that it will be impossible to reach agreement in the Uruguay Round unless the United States makes concessions. "If nothing moves and nothing changes, then there will be no GATT accord," Balladur said. European Community officials say the U.S. is not proposing deep enough tariff cuts in textiles and apparel to move talks forward. The U.S. says the Europeans are using the textiles and apparel dispute as a smokescreen to hide their inability to get France to make concessions in agriculture. If an accord is not reached by the December 15 target date, Australian Trade Minister Peter Cook suggested the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group could provide a fallback option. Sources: Jackie Calmes, Bob Davis, "Clinton to Press for Movement on World Trade," WALL STREET JOURNAL, November 22, 1993; "France Says U.S. Must Offer Better GATT Terms," REUTER, November 21, 1993; George Graham, David Dodwell, Frances Williams, "EU and U.S. in Crucial GATT Talks," FINANCIAL TIMES, November 22, 1993; "Australia Says APEC Fallback Option If GATT Fails," REUTER, November 21, 1993. ________________________________________________________ APEC PUSHES FOR GATT CONCLUSION Trade ministers from around the Pacific rim attempted a show of force to restart the GATT talks. In a joint declaration, the ministers refused to re-open discussions on the Blair House agriculture accord, saying that it "already dilutes" the Final Act of former GATT Director General Arthur Dunkel. European hopes that the APEC summit might move the GATT talks forward by offering concessions on agricultural issues were dashed completely. Instead, the statement that was presented by USTR Mickey Kantor reiterated a determination not to budge. "The message is clear: a substantial result in market access for manufacturers, agriculture and services, combined with a strong set of rules and disciplines, should produce the result that we all can celebrate." Kantor said the APEC joint statement reflected "the most economically powerful and dynamic region in the world" with 40% of the world's population, 40% of world trade and a combined gross domestic product of 13 trillion dollars. APEC currently includes Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Source: Pratap Chatterjee, "Pacific Trade Ministers Flex Muscles, But Produce Nothing," IPS, November 18, 1993. ________________________________________________________ MEXICO, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, CHILE ADMITTED TO APEC APEC countries have agreed to admit Mexico and Papua New Guinea this year and Chile next year. Mexican Foreign Minister Fernando Solana welcomed the announcement. "My country's membership to the main organization in the Pacific rim will certainly get us closer to the region with the highest growth rate on earth. Mexico fulfills, thus, an important political yearning," he told other ministers. APEC also agreed to a freeze on new membership for three years. U.S. officials say the admission of Chile and Mexico is a "reward" for their open economic policies, suggesting that other Latin American countries on the Pacific rim with open trading policies might soon be able to follow. Source: Pratap Chatterjee, "Mexico and Papua New Guinea Join Asia Pacific Body," IPS, November 18, 1993. ________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary ________________________________________________________ AFL-CIO: CLINTON MUST DISCOURAGE BUSINESSES FROM MOVING AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Tom Donahue said President Clinton will have to work hard to win back the votes of union members angry over his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement. "I can't exaggerate the depth of feeling on the issue. This issue burned deeper into the minds and hearts of working people all across the country than any issue in recent memory," Donahue said. He claimed Clinton could win back the support of labor if he asked U.S. businesses to pledge not to send jobs south of the border. "He could say to his friends in corporations, 'Make sure you don't move any jobs to Mexico. Make sure you make American products for Americans in America,'" Donahue said. NAFTA won final U.S. approval Saturday as the Senate voted 61-38 to approve the trade pact. Sources: Robert Green, "Labor Tells Clinton Keep Jobs in U.S.," REUTER, November 21, 1993; "AFL-CIO's Donahue: Rift With White House Over NAFTA Still Alive," UPI, November 21, 1993; Lyndsay Griffiths, "NAFTA Clears U.S. Congress in Easy Senate Vote," REUTER, November 20, 1993. ________________________________________________________ CHRETIEN CALLS FOR NEW SIDE AGREEMENTS IN NAFTA Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien is calling for side agreements in NAFTA to get a "clearer definition of subsidy and dumping and to have some clarification on water and some clarification on energy." The Canadians are critical of NAFTA's energy provisions, which allow Mexico to protect its local industries from U.S. competition. According to Cameron Duncan, a Greenpeace spokesperson, NAFTA prohibits the Canadians from restricting U.S. or Mexican imports of their energy beyond a certain level. Because the Mexicans are not obliged to follow this, Duncan says, Mexico is free to sell its energy resources more profitably to other countries, while the Canadians are obliged to sell to the U.S. Likewise, Mexico can choose not to sell those resources should it decide that it would have an adverse environmental impact. Source: Pratap Chatterjee, "U.S., Canada Disagree on Mexico's Energy Industry," IPS, November 18, 1993. ________________________________________________________ Other recommended APC conferences: trade.strategy, trade.library, susag.news, susag.strategy, env.biotech, eai.news. If you are not on APC and would like to subscribe to the mailing lists for any of these conferences, send email to kmander@igc.apc.org. Editor: 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 ________________________________________________________