From iatp@igc.apc.orgSat Jan 13 15:53:55 1996 Date: Fri, 05 Jan 1996 11:01:51 -0800 (PST) From: IATP To: Recipients of conference Subject: Trade News 1-5-96 TRADE NEWS Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Volume 5, Number 1 January 5, 1996 _________________________________________ Headlines: - WTO NAMES COMMITTEE CHAIRS - CHINA ANNOUNCES MAJOR TARIFF CUT - S. KOREA WILL HONOR U.S. MEAT PACT - NGO FORUM OPPOSES APEC FREE TRADE AGENDA - S. ASIAN COUNTRIES AGREE ON FREE TRADE - CANADA, CHILE MOVE ON FREE TRADE _________________________________________ WTO NEWS SUMMARY _________________________________________ WTO NAMES COMMITTEE CHAIRS Last month, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) approved a list of ten new chairmen to head the organization's major committees over the next year. Topping the list is Swiss Ambassador William Rossier, who will replace Singapore Ambassador K. Kesavapany as chairman of the WTO General Council. Brazilian Ambassador Celso Lafer will be the new chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, replacing Australian Ambassador Donald Kenyon. The new chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods will be Ambassador Srinivasan Naranayan of India, who will take over from Japanese Ambassador Minoru Endo. The Council on Trade in Services, now headed by Swedish Ambassador Christer Manhusen, will be chaired by Lilia Bautista of the Philippines. And New Zealand Ambassador Wade Armstrong will replace Stuart Harbinson of Hong Kong as chairman of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. In addition, Ambassador Anne Anderson of Ireland will head the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, Ambassador Juan Sanchez of Argentina will chair the Committee on Trade and Environment, and Ambassador Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi of Morocco will chair the Committee on Trade and Development. One of Japan's representatives to the WTO, Jun Yokota, will chair the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration, while the Committee on Balance-of- Payments Restrictions will be chaired by Peter Witt, Germany's alternative representative. According to a WTO official, the chairmen of the remaining WTO bodies, such as the committees on agriculture, market access, anti-dumping and safeguards, will be chosen later this month. "WTO Names Chairmen of Ten Committees For Next Year," INSIDE U.S. TRADE, Vol. 13, No. 51, December 22, 1995. CHINA ANNOUNCES MAJOR TARIFF CUT Last month, China announced it will slash the average level of its tariffs to 23 percent beginning April 1, 1996. The move was a major step in the country's drive to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO). The cut will mean a 35 percent reduction from China's current average tariff rate. The announcement implements a promise made in November 1995 by China's president Jiang Zemin to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Osaka, Japan to slash import tariffs on 4,000 items in 1996. China was keen to join the WTO at its founding on January 1, 1995, but failed because of objections by member states over protectionism, inadequate protection of intellectual property rights and other issues. "Beijing Announces Tariff Cut on Imports to 23% April 1," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, December 29, 1995. S. KOREA WILL HONOR U.S. MEAT PACT Last month, South Korea announced it will honor an agreement to open its market for U.S. meat and meat products, averting a confrontation with the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO). In November 1995 the United States warned South Korea that unless it stopped backpedaling from this summer's settlement of the so-called "hot dog dispute," Washington would go to the WTO and request a dispute settlement panel to rule on the matter. The United States had set December 15 as the date by which South Korea was to issue a new "notification" to the WTO to implement the terms of the agreement. The dispute began two years ago when South Korea seized a shipment of American sausages and said they were allowed only a 30-day shelf-life period rather than the 90-day period that had been allowed previously. The United States contended that Korea's regulations on sausages and other meat products were not based on sound science and were discriminatory and unfairly restricted trade. After eighteen months of negotiations, Korea agreed this past July to drop its new meat import regulations. U.S. trade and industry officials later charged that Korea was not living up to the agreement. Maggie McNeil, "South Korea to Honor Its Agreement: Markets Will Open for U.S. Meat," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, December 21, 1995. _________________________________________ REGIONAL/BILATERAL AGREEMENTS _________________________________________ NGO FORUM OPPOSES APEC FREE TRADE AGENDA On November 15, more than 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) meeting in Kyoto, Japan rejected the framework for trade liberalization set out last month by member governments of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) at their annual meeting. The NGOs and trade unions at the meeting called on APEC governments to engage in regional cooperation which promotes socially and ecologically sustainable development. In particular, the NGO forum recommended: rejection of nuclear power and mega-hydroelectric projects; protection of the land rights and tenure of women, farmers and indigenous people; protection of biodiversity and the rejection of intellectual property rights regimes which facilitate the theft of indigenous knowledge; and accountability and transparency of transnational corporations. The NGO forum also demanded accountability of governments and opportunities for citizen participation in decision-making and monitoring of trade and investment policies and practices. "International NGO Forum Opposes APEC Trade Liberalization," PRESS RELEASE, NGO PRESS CENTER at OSAKA, November 15, 1995. S. ASIAN NATIONS AGREE ON FREE TRADE Last month, foreign ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) agreed to work toward a free-trade area by the year 2005. The agreement came less than three weeks after SAARC nations formally launched the South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA). India's foreign minister Pranab Mukerjee said the decision to move on to a free-trade area "will be a turning point in SAARC's history." According to informed observers, SAARC members intend to move into the second round of negotiations on trade concessions in March 1996, focusing on the removal of non-tariff barriers. SAARC's members are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. N. Vasuki Rao, "2005 Is Target Date For South Asian Free Trade," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, December 21, 1995. CANADA, CHILE MOVE ON FREE TRADE Canadian trade minister Roy McLaren announced this week that Canada and Chile will start working out their own free trade agreement without waiting for the United States to agree to Chile's entry into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In mid-January, the two countries will begin negotiating "a bilateral accord that will encompass trade in goods, services, investment and dispute settlement," McLaren said. The United States, Canada and Mexico have pledged to expand NAFTA by including Chile first among Latin American nations, but progress has been held up by differences between the U.S. Congress and the Clinton administration over so-called "fast track" authority to negotiate a deal that Congress cannot amend. For that reason, McLaren said, Canada and Chile would seek "an interim bilateral agreement" that would "provide a bridge to full NAFTA accession for Chile." According to McLaren, the Canada-Chile agreement would "be folded into the NAFTA" once the United States joins in and full negotiations are completed. "Tired of Waiting, Canada, Chile to Start Writing Trade Agreement," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, January 2, 1996. RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: NAFTA, GATT, AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS. On April 29-30, 1994 the Pacific Basin Research Center of Soka University of America and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University sponsored a conference of leading experts on trade and environment exploring the environmental impact of international trade agreements. The papers presented at this conference are now available. These papers include: David Barkin, "Economic Integration vs. Sustainable Development"; Bruce Campbell, "Moving in the Wrong Direction: The North American Free Trade Agreement and Environmental Sustainability"; Herman E. Daly, "Against Free Trade: Neoclassical and Steady-State Perspectives"; Paul Elkins, "International Trade at a Crossroads"; Hilary French, "The Greening of International Trade: Post-Uruguay Round Priorities"; Mark Ritchie, "Impacts of NAFTA on Sustainable Agriculture"; Justin Ward and Jared Blumenfeld, "GATT and the Global Environment: The Road Ahead"; and Janet L. Chakarian, "Trade and the Environment: GATT's Response to the Challenge." Copies of these papers are available from John D. Montgomery, director, Pacific Basin Research Center, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-5800. ___________________________________________ Trade News is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mark Ritchie, President. Editor: Orin Kirshner. E-mail versions of Trade News are available free of charge for Econet/IATP Net subscribers. 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