Trade Week in Review Friday, April 15, 1994 Volume 3, Number 15 ____________________________________________________ Headlines: URUGUAY ROUND SIGNED CONSUMER GROUPS CALL FOR MORATORIUM GATT AG PROVISIONS QUESTIONED U.S. ENVIROS SAY GATT NOT GREEN ENOUGH FAIR TRADE BILL SIGNED BY U.S. LAWMAKERS U.S. CONTINUES BILATERAL TALKS ____________________________________________________ URUGUAY ROUND SIGNED Representatives from over 120 nations gathered in Marrakesh, Morocco this week to close the Uruguay Round "Final Act." Thunderous applause broke out Friday as Uruguayan Foreign Minister Sergio Abreu Bonilla brought down the gavel on the podium, formally ending the round. "The Marrakesh declaration will be truly historic," said GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland. After the four-hour ceremony, representatives stood in line to sign copies of the 26,000-page accord. The accord will now be sent to the legislatures of GATT members for formal ratification. GATT supporters are hoping to ratify the accord prior to January 1, 1995 --- GATT's target implementation date. In key legislatures, such as the United States and India, there could be strong opposition to GATT. Sources: Patrick McDowell, "GATT-Trade," AP, April 15, 1994; "GATT Nations Vow to Resist Protectionism," REUTER, April 15, 1994; Robert Evans, " Trade Pact to Be Signed But Hurdles Remain," REUTER, April 15, 1994. ____________________________________________________ CONSUMER GROUPS CALL FOR MORATORIUM U.S. consumer groups called for a three-year moratorium on challenges to food safety, health and environmental laws allowed under GATT's successor, the World Trade Organization. In a new report, Public Citizen and the Environmental Working Group argue the moratorium is necessary to give the trade and environment committee the opportunity to rewrite the new rules and to "democratize" the new GATT dispute settlement procedure. U.S. environmental groups have long argued that under Uruguay Round provisions, many U.S. food safety standards would be subject to challenge or weakening. The trade pact's food standards are set by the Rome-based commission, Codex Alimentarius. According to the FINANCIAL TIMES, Codex is strongly influenced by chemical and food industries. The report, "Trading Away U.S. Food Safety," cites 241 foods and substances in which Codex allows carcinogens and the U.S. does not. In 47 cases, both the U.S. and Codex allow carcinogens, but the U.S. tolerance is lower. "Nothing is more likely to pull down our present consumer and environmental protections and derail future advances than the proposed trade deal," said Public Citizen founder Ralph Nader. To obtain a copy of the report, "Trading Away U.S. Food Safety," contact PUBLIC CITIZEN. Public Citizen Publications, Dept. GATT, Suite 600, 2000 P Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. (202) 833- 3000. Fax: (202) 296-1727. $50.00 corporate; $20.00 consumer. Sources: Nancy Dunne, "U.S. Concern on Food Safety Rules," FINANCIAL TIMES, April 14, 1994; "GATT-Food Safety," AP, April 12, 1994. ____________________________________________________ GATT AG PROVISIONS QUESTIONED Farmers, consumers, students and lawmakers around the world continued to raise concerns this week over GATT's agriculture provisions. In Seoul last weekend more than 10,000 people protested agriculture concessions negotiated under the Uruguay Round, and called on the government to protect South Korean farmers. "The government forced our farming community and agriculture to the edge of a cliff by its clumsy diplomacy," Lee Ki-taek, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, told protesters. "If the government signs the protocol on the existing country schedule for trade concessions, we will struggle to block its ratification." Police arrested more than 3,500 farmers in Karnataka, India Thursday after they held up trains and vehicles in protest of their government's acceptance of the GATT accord. Twenty-one U.S. farm organizations, who strongly supported the GATT pact during negotiations, warned in a recent letter to President Bill Clinton that GATT implementation costs should "not fall unfairly on U.S. agriculture." In the letter, the coalition wrote that it would find it "very difficult to support any proposed implementing legislation which resulted in a disproportionate share of the cost of GATT being placed on U.S. agriculture." The Clinton administration is reportedly considering cutting domestic U.S. farm programs as a way of recovering much of the $13 billion in lost tariff revenues expected under GATT. Meanwhile, the Cairns Group of agriculture exporting nations has vowed to press the new World Trade Organization for wider agriculture reforms. "The Cairns Group will remain vigilant to see that the reforms so hard won to date are implemented and that all the commitments are met on schedule," said Australian Trade Minister Bob McMullan. Cairns Group members plan to meet May 19 and 20 for a follow-up GATT discussion and to establish "a common position on agriculture." Sources: "Koreans Rally Against Farm Imports," UPI, April 9, 1994; "Agriculture Groups Voice GATT Concerns to Clinton," REUTER, April 13, 1994; Nancy Dunne, "U.S. Farm Interests Fire Warning Shot," FINANCIAL TIMES, April 15, 1994; "Indian Police Arrest Anti-GATT Protesters," REUTER, April 14, 1994; "GATT Farm Group to Pursue Reform Drive," REUTER, April 14, 1994; "Cairns Group Sets May 19 Date for Uruguay Meeting," REUTER, April 14, 1994. ____________________________________________________ U.S. ENVIROS SAY GATT NOT GREEN ENOUGH; DEVELOPING NATIONS OPPOSE SAFEGUARDS Several U.S. environmental groups issued statements yesterday reaffirming their opposition to GATT. "Congress should not pass this GATT until real environmental standards are included," said Jane Perkins, president of Friends of the Earth. Speaking to trade ministers in Marrakesh, Vice President Al Gore called the trade pact "truly momentous" but said workers rights and the environment must be protected. "Economic growth pursued without vision or compassion for the way it may affect working men and women and without regard for its environmental consequences ... is growth that contains the seeds of its own destruction," Gore said. The U.S. pushed for the inclusion of some environmental measures during GATT talks, but failed to win anything stronger than the promise that environmental issues would be discussed by a post- GATT trade and environment working committee. Jessica Mathews of the WASHINGTON POST notes, "The political environment for greening the GATT is not promising." This should ease some concerns voiced by developing countries. REUTER's correspondent Arshad Mohammed said developing nation representatives gave "speech after speech to a half-empty hall" Wednesday denouncing U.S. and other Western nations' attempts to link trade and labor issues to the Uruguay Round. "We recognize the need for environmental protection, however our experience tells us that a degraded environment is equally a manifestation of poverty," said Indian Commerce Minister Pranab Mukherjee. "Rushing into trade policy measures without addressing the root cause of environmental degradation would only lead to protectionism in the name of the environment." Sources: "U.S. Environmental Groups Say GATT Needs Reform," REUTER, April 14, 1994; Lyndsay Griffiths, "U.S. Wants GATT to Protect Environment, Worker-Gore," REUTER, April 14, 1995; Lyndsay Griffiths, "Gore Calls for Environment, Labor Safeguards," REUTER, April 14, 1994; Jessica Mathews, "The Great Greenless GATT," WASHINGTON POST, April 10, 1994; Arshad Mohammed, "Developing Countries Lash Out Against Trade Limits," REUTER, April 13, 1994. ____________________________________________________ FAIR TRADE BILL SIGNED BY U.S. LAWMAKERS The bipartisan leadership of a U.S. House task force on GATT launched a "Fair Trade Enforcement" bill aimed at preventing foreign countries from "dumping" their products at unfairly low prices. Representative Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) who co-chairs the Congressional GATT Task Force with Norm Mineta (D-California), said the bill "is a benchmark of how GATT is going to be implemented in the United States." Mineta said the bill "would amend current U.S. law to strengthen areas where implementation of the GATT could critically weaken U.S. industry's ability to compete with unfair foreign traders, and to gain access in closed markets abroad." The bill will be submitted first to the House of Representatives for review. Sources: "'Fair Trade' Bill Anticipates GATT," UPI, April 13, 1994; "Trade Bill Seeks to Correct GATT 'Problems'," REUTER, April 13, 1994. ____________________________________________________ U.S. CONTINUES BILATERAL TALKS Bilateral talks aimed at resolving trade disputes were held during the four-day GATT signing conference. U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor met with Japanese Foreign Minister Tsutomo Hata to discuss further liberalization of Japan's markets. "Although we didn't find the basis to resume formal talks today, we did make progress and our door remains open," Kantor said following the talks. "The ball is still in Japan's court." Kantor was also scheduled to meet with Canadian Trade Minister Roy McLaren to settle trade disputes over Canadian wheat, peanut butter and dairy exports. Source: Patrick McDowell, "GATT-Trade," AP, April 15, 1994. ____________________________________________________ The following email services are offered by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: "trade.library" - a storehouse of trade related documents, including analyses, reports, fact sheets, White House transcripts ... etc. "trade.strategy" - an open discussion of trade issues and events "eai.news" - a regular bulletin summarizing the latest news in Latin American integration and development "susag.news" - a regular news bulletin pertaining to sustainable agriculture "susag.library" - longer documents, studies and analyses on sustainable agriculture "susag.calendar" - a calendar of events "env.biotech" - a news bulletin about biotechnology If you are on EcoNet/PeaceNet, you may access these services by going to the "conferences" section. 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