From kmander@igc.apc.orgSat Apr 8 11:34:31 1995 Date: 06 Oct 94 12:53 PDT From: Kai Mander Reply to: "Conference trade.news" To: "Recipients of conference trade.news" Newsgroups: trade.news Subject: Trade Week 10-6-94 Trade Week in Review Thursday, October 6, 1994 Volume 3, Number 40 _________________________________________________ HEADLINES: Congress Plans Lame-Duck Vote on GATT WASHINGTON POST Deal May Have Led to Delay Delay, Lame-Duck Vote, May Help GATT Opponents Clinton Promises to Expand Farm Export Subsidies Resources _________________________________________________ GATT NEWS SUMMARY _________________________________________________ Congress Plans Lame-Duck Vote on GATT The House of Representatives postponed yesterday's scheduled vote on GATT implementing legislation until after the November 8 mid- term elections. House leaders scheduled a new vote for November 29 and blamed the delay on the Senate's postponement of its vote until December 1. "The Senate decision to postpone this vote has quite frankly undermined our ability to guarantee strong bipartisan support for this effort in the House at this time," leaders said in a letter to President Clinton. However, House Speaker Thomas Foley (D-Washington) denied the delay meant Congress might reject the trade pact. "It is going to become law," he told reporters. "And anybody who doesn't think that is right is betting a bad bet in my view." The decision means both houses of Congress will convene special lame-duck sessions to vote on GATT. Supporters of GATT hope scheduling the vote after the elections will allow some members of Congress -- worried about opposition in their home districts to GATT -- to vote for the trade pact. In a speech to business leaders Monday, President Clinton said the trade pact "has a phenomenal amount of support from business, consumer and labor groups." He said GATT would add 100 to 200 billion dollars to the U.S. economy. GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland, seeking global support for GATT, said Monday that the Uruguay Round would pump $500 billion into the world economy. Sutherland had previously claimed GATT would create $235 billion in new income. Sources: David Rosenbaum, "House Vote on Trade Is Postponed," NEW YORK TIMES, October 6, 1994; Walter Mears, "Trade Wars," AP, October 6, 1994; Kenneth Cooper, Mike Mills, "Trade Pact Vote Delayed in House; GOP Forces Lame-Duck Session on GATT," WASHINGTON POST, October 6, 1994; "Clinton Says Approving GATT Is in National Interest," AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, October 3, 1994; Peter Norman, "GATT Says Uruguay Round Worth $500 Billion," FINANCIAL TIMES, October 4, 1994. _________________________________________________ WASHINGTON POST Deal May Have Led to Delay A deal in GATT legislation that would give preferential licensing fees to three communications companies for wireless telephone rights may have pushed the House to seek a delay in voting on GATT. The provision allows the three companies to pay 85 percent of the market value of similar licenses granted by the Federal Communications Commission. By attaching the provision to GATT legislation, the administration was able to use the $400 million the companies will pay for the licenses to help offset lost tariff revenues under GATT. One of the companies, American Personal Communications, is 70 percent owned by the WASHINGTON POST. In an ad in several newspapers, including the WASHINGTON POST, Pacific Telesis called the deal "a billion dollar loophole" and criticized the POST for not disclosing its interest in editorials promoting GATT. In a September 29 editorial, the POST said the GATT legislation "contains no surprises, no provisions that have not been amply discussed." Criticism by conservative Republicans, many of whom dislike the WASHINGTON POST, led to a special House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing yesterday. House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) cited the deal as a possible example of other special deals buried in the GATT legislation. Sources: Keith Bradsher, "In a Delay, Signs of a Plan Backfiring," NEW YORK TIMES, October 6, 1994; Mike Mills, "War Over a 'Pioneer' Provision," WASHINGTON POST, October 5, 1994; Mike Mills, "Post Criticized on GATT Editorial," WASHINGTON POST, October 4, 1994. _________________________________________________ Delay, Lame-Duck Vote, May Help GATT Opponents An article in today's WALL STREET JOURNAL says the delay in voting on GATT will energize grass-roots opponents of GATT and put the future of GATT legislation in jeopardy. The postponement "represents a big gamble on the part of Republicans, who traditionally back trade-liberalization measures," the article states. Public Citizen's Lori Wallach said the more the public learns about GATT, the harder it will be to pass. "The growing public awareness of trade issues built in NAFTA is moving to GATT," Wallach said. "It's made a vote for GATT a politically dangerous vote." A broad range of environmental and animal protection groups, whose combined membership represents 15.1 million members, announced September 29 their opposition to the Uruguay Round. The 14-million member AFL-CIO sent letters to House members October 3 asking them to oppose GATT because it would hurt U.S. workers. Furthermore, the public may object to a lame-duck Congress composed of retiring or defeated lawmakers determining the outcome of such an important piece of legislation. Several Republicans criticized their colleagues for supporting the delay. "To come back in a lame-duck session and vote on an issue of this magnitude is simply wrong," said Representative Dan Burton (R- Indiana). "The point is, members don't want to be on record with a vote on GATT before the election," added Representative Fred Grandy (R-Iowa). Sources: Bob Davis, Jackie Calmes, "World Trade Pact Is Delayed in the Congress," WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 6, 1994; AFL-CIO Legislative Alert to Representatives, October 3, 1994; "Broad Range of Environmental Groups Opposes GATT Legislation," September 29, 1994. _________________________________________________ Clinton Promises to Expand Farm Export Subsidies The Clinton administration is promising agriculture interests it will expand farm export subsidies under GATT. In a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chair Kika de la Garza, Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and Acting Budget Director Alice Rivlin vowed to modify the Export Enhancement Program, the Dairy Export Incentive Program and other programs "so they can be used for market expansion and promotion, not just for combating unfair trade practices as is currently the case." Espy and Rivlin say the Uruguay Round would lead to an increase in U.S. agricultural exports worth $5-$14 billion over the first five years, creating 112,000 jobs by the year 2000. However, the Dairy Trade Coalition expressed disappointment with dairy provisions in GATT implementing legislation and encouraged members of Congress to reject GATT. Vermont Senators Patrick Leahy and James Jeffords have vowed to oppose GATT, citing the dairy provisions as among their concerns about the trade pact. Sources: Letter to Rep. Kika de la Garza From Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and Budget Director Alice Rivlin, September 30, 1994; John Dillon, "Leahy Says He Will Vote Against GATT," SUNDAY RUTLAND HERALD AND SUNDAY TIMES ARGUS, October 2, 1994; Memo From the Dairy Trade Coalition, October 4, 1994. _________________________________________________ RESOURCES _________________________________________________ For copies of the following, please contact the authors or organizations listed: "GATT 1994 Q A Bad Deal for the United States," William A. Lovett, STATEMENT TO U.S. HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, June 10, 1994. 16 pages. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 1313 5th Street S.E., Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546. (612) 379- 5980. Fax: (612) 379-5982. $3. "National Government Policies to Regulate TNCs (and Their Future Under the GATT Uruguay Round)," Eric Kolodner, INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES, August 1994. 17 pages. Institute for Policy Studies, 1601 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20009. (202) 234-9382. Fax: (202) 387-7915. $5. A working paper. Please send comments to John Cavanagh at the Institute for Policy Studies. "Rethinking Bretton Woods: Toward Equitable, Sustainable and Participatory Development," CENTER OF CONCERN, August 1994. 33 pages. Center of Concern, 3700 13th Street N.E., Washington, DC 20017. (202) 635-2757. Fax: (202) 832-9494. $5.95 plus shipping and handling. Conference Report and Recommendations from the "Rethinking Bretton Woods" conference convened in Washington, DC from June 12 to 17, 1994. "Environmental Taxes and Charges and Border Tax Adjustment Q GATT Rules and Energy Taxes," Charles Arden-Clarke, WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE, September 1994. 8 pages. WWF International, Avenue du Mont-Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland. (41-22) 364- 9513. Fax: (41-22) 364-5829. "Papers Presented at the GATT Symposium on Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development," TRADE AND THE ENVIRONMENT, July 28, 1994. 98 pages. Information and Media Relations Division of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland. (41-22) 739-5111. _________________________________________________ For more information about the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, send email to iatp-info@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 _________________________________________________