Trade Week in Review and Resources Friday, June 24, 1994 Volume 3, Number 25 _________________________________________________ Headlines: GATT OPPOSITION GAINING MOMENTUM SENATORS PROPOSE GATT LANGUAGE REPUBLICANS SUBMIT FINANCING PLAN LATIN AMERICA SPLIT ON WTO POST U.S. WANTS GATT TO STUDY EU EXPANSION RESOURCES _________________________________________________ GATT NEWS SUMMARY _________________________________________________ GATT OPPOSITION GAINING MOMENTUM Responding to news that the U.S. Congress will begin considering GATT implementing legislation as soon as next week, environmental groups have become more active in their opposition to the Uruguay Round. The Sierra Club ran a full-page advertisement in Monday's NEW YORK TIMES denouncing GATT as a threat to democracy. Under the headline, "Jeopardized by GATT -- 100 U.S. Environmental Laws," the Sierra Club encouraged readers to clip coupons included at the bottom of the ad and send them to their representatives in Congress. The ad warned that GATT could threaten hundreds of popular U.S. laws, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as well as gas-guzzler, pesticide, food safety and recycling laws. The Citizens Trade Campaign, a coalition of environmental, labor, farm and consumer groups, has organized a National Call-In Against GATT. The campaign is urging people to call their Senators on June 28 and ask them to protect U.S. sovereignty, preserve the environment and put an end to bigger deficits and higher taxes by stopping "the rush to pass GATT." Sources: "Jeopardized by GATT -- 100 U.S. Environmental Laws," NEW YORK TIMES, June 20, 1994; "National Call-In Against GATT," CTC ACTION ALERT, June 21, 1994. __________________________________________________ SENATORS PROPOSE GATT LANGUAGE Senators John Danforth (R-Missouri) and Max Baucus (D-Montana) sent President Clinton suggested language to include in the GATT implementing bill. The senators, who say their proposal would help gain bipartisan support for GATT, call for language to ensure that allowable subsidies do not create unfair competition and harm U.S. industries. They also propose a legal process that a U.S. industry could use to petition the administration to take action against a GATT member it believes to be causing "serious adverse effects." In addition, the senators want the administration to complete an annual report to Congress on foreign subsidy programs and initiate dispute settlement proceedings against each disputed program. They also called for aggressive use of existing U.S. trade laws, such as Super 301. On Monday the administration presented the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee with proposals for legislation to implement the Uruguay Round. The proposal on antidumping and countervailing duty provisions includes special antidumping duty treatment for economies in transition from non-market to market economies. Meanwhile, Danforth and all Senate Republicans signed a letter to Clinton saying they opposed extending fast-track negotiating authority "to pursue international trade agreements which link trade with labor and environmental issues." As part of GATT implementing legislation, Clinton has asked for a seven-year extension of fast-track, which forces Congress to consider trade agreements quickly and without amendments. The administration included linking trade agreements with environmental and labor issues as part of its seven principal negotiating objectives for future trade agreements. Sources: "Key Senators Send Joint GATT Plan to Administration," CONGRESSDAILY, June 22, 1994; "Administration Presents Proposals on Antidumping Provisions of GATT Bill," BNA, June 21, 1994; "Administration Proposes Special Trade Treatment for EITs," CONGRESSDAILY, June 21, 1994; Martin Crutsinger, "Free Trade," AP, June 17, 1994. _________________________________________________ REPUBLICANS SUBMIT FINANCING PLAN Earlier this month Republican members of the Senate Budget Committee sent the White House proposals for financing the Uruguay Round. The plan calls for $5.9 billion in spending cuts and $4.1 billion in new revenues already proposed by the administration. The Republicans say they submitted the plan to show that lost federal revenue resulting from GATT could be accounted for without waiving pay-as-you-go budget rules. White House Budget Director Leon Panetta said the administration continues to examine ways to make up for the lost federal revenue. Meanwhile, in a CNN interview Wednesday, GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland expressed confidence that members of Congress would pass GATT, saying it would be "inconceivable" for them to do otherwise. Asked why he felt the need to lobby the Congress and American public in favor of the trade pact, Sutherland denied that was the purpose of his trip to the United States. Sources: "Senate Budget Committee GOP Staff Floats GATT Financing Package With Spending Cuts," BNA INTERNATIONAL TRADE DAILY, June 22, 1994; Stuart Varney, "GATT's Sutherland Says He's Confident of World Approval," CNN, June 22, 1994. _________________________________________________ LATIN AMERICA SPLIT ON WTO POST At the close of the Iberian-American summit last week in Colombia, it was widely reported that the leaders of 19 Latin American nations and Spain and Portugal had endorsed Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to head the World Trade Organization. However Brazil reacted angrily to the news that its close ally, Argentina, apparently backed Salinas over the Brazilian candidate, Finance Minister Rubens Ricupero. Now Brazil says it received a letter from Argentina saying it misunderstood the WTO discussions and that it would support Ricupero's candidacy. Brazilian President Carlos Menem had to leave the summit meetings early to attend a funeral and was not present during the WTO discussions. Mexico is strongly pushing Salinas, who announced his formal candidacy for the post this week. The U.S. is likely to back Salinas, but its endorsement will come only after developing countries announce their support. Only one candidate from Latin America is expected to be considered by the world trade body. Former Italian Trade Minister Renato Ruggiero is expected to win the endorsement of the European Union. Sources: "Argentina Retreats on Endorsement for WTO - Report," REUTER, June 19, 1994; Nancy Dunne, "Mexico Promotes Salinas for WTO Post," FINANCIAL TIMES, June 17, 1994; Angus Foster, "Brazil Angered by WTO Choice," FINANCIAL TIMES, June 18, 1994; Stephen Fidler, "Argentina 'Backs' Brazil to Lead WTO," FINANCIAL TIMES, June 21, 1994; Damian Fraser, Guy de Jonquieres, Frances Williams, "Salinas Joins Race to Head WTO," FINANCIAL TIMES, June 23, 1994; "Delors Backs an EU Candidate for WTO Top Job," EUROPEAN INFORMATION SERVICE, June 22, 1994. _______________________________________________________ U.S. WANTS GATT TO STUDY EU EXPANSION The United States will ask GATT to set up a working party to examine the accession of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Austria to the European Union. The U.S. wants GATT to guarantee that its rights under the GATT and the WTO are not affected by the expansion of the EU. Source: "U.S. Seeks Assurances EU Enlargement Will Not Affect Rights Under GATT," BNA, June 22, 1994. __________________________________________________ RESOURCES __________________________________________________ For copies of the following, please contact the authors or organizations listed: "NAFTA: An intensification of the environmental problems related to Chile's unsustainable export oriented growth," INSTITUTO DE ECOLOGIA POLITICA, March 25, 1994. 7 pages. Center for International Environmental Law, 1621 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20009-4840. (202) 332-4840. Fax: (202) 332-4865. Email: ciclus@igc.org. Free. A document prepared for the Center for International Environmental Law Conference, "NAFTA, Chile and the Environment," held on March 25, 1994 in Washington, D.C. "Uruguay Round Trade Agreements: Additional Draft Implementing Proposals," SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRADE; WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, May 26, 1994. 29 pages. Committee on Ways and Means #22, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office, Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20515. (202) 225-1721. Free. "Testimony of Pat Choate, Director, The Manufacturing Policy Project Before Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives," June 10, 1994. 6 pages. WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20515. (202) 225-1721. Free. Testimony on the proposed World Trade Organization. "Implications of the Uruguay Round for U.S. Agriculture," FOOD AND AGRICULTURE POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, June 1994. 40 pages. FAPRI Q Missouri, University of Missouri, 101 So. Fifth Street, Columbia, MO 65201. (314) 882-3576. Fax: (314) 884-4688. Free. "GATT, the WTO and Sustainable Development: positioning the work program on trade and environment," Nevin Shaw and Aaron Cosbey, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, June 1994. 41 pages. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 161 Portage Ave. E., 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4 Canada. (204) 958-7700. Fax: (204) 958-7710. email: iisd@web.apc.org. U.S.$8. _________________________________________________ For information on the email services offered by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, send email to kmander@igc.apc.org. Trade Week in Review is produced by: Kai Mander Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) 1313 5th Street, SE, Suite 303 Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA tel: (612) 379-5980 fax: (612) 379-5982 email: kmander@igc.apc.org _________________________________________________