TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume II Number 3 Wednesday, January 6, 1993 _________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary _________________________________________________________ CLINTON: SALINAS MEETING WON'T BE NEGOTIATING SESSION President-elect Bill Clinton will not bring nominated U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor nor Secretary of State designate Warren Christopher to Austin, Texas Friday for a meeting with Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. "We're not going to get into a long, detailed discussion of NAFTA or anything like that," Clinton said. "We want to get to know each other." Salinas appears eager to use Clinton's popularity in Congress to push through an agreement soon after Clinton's inauguration January 20. The Mexican government has recently put forth environmental and labor proposals in hopes they will assuage some of Clinton's stated concerns about NAFTA. But the plans, including one designating funds to clean up the Mexican side of the 2,000-mile U.S. border, call for financial assistance from the U.S. "The message is going to be: If you want more in NAFTA that costs more, you have to foot the bill," said Jorge Bustamante, a university president who advised Mexican negotiators. Labor issues will be another trouble area for the two leaders. Clinton is scheduled to meet with U.S. automakers in Little Rock, Arkansas today. Clinton's Communications Director George Stephanopoulos said NAFTA was expected to be discussed at the meeting. Most unions oppose NAFTA because it could encourage U.S. companies to move to Mexico in search of cheap wages. Source: Dianna Solis, "When Clinton Meets Mexico's Salinas, Agendas on Free Trade Might Not Mesh," WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 6, 1993, p. A4; Michael K. Frisby, "Clinton Meets U.S. Auto Makers Today to Discuss Range of Industry's Issues," WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 6, 1993, p. A2. _________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary _________________________________________________________ ENVIRONMENTALISTS GAINING IN GATT, MAGAZINE SAYS A recent article in the ECONOMIST contends environmentalists are gaining power in GATT negotiations and that the trend will increase when Al Gore takes over as Vice-President of the United States. The magazine, a strong supporter of liberalized trade, says the troubles negotiators have had finalizing the Uruguay Round will be magnified because "greenery will become a cloak for more traditional kinds of protectionism, in industry and agriculture." The article argues that in order to complete a GATT agreement, free- traders must "emphasize their own concern for the environment" by arguing three strong points: free trade often leads to stronger environmental policies; it is often appropriate for developing countries to have lower environmental standards than developed nations; and freer trade will decrease the use of the world's resources. Source: "Don't Green the GATT," THE ECONOMIST, December 26- January 8, 1993, p. 15. _________________________________________________________ Other Trade News ASEAN COUNTRIES RELEASE DETAILS OF TRADE ACCORD Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recently offered the first substantive glimpse of the details of their free trade agreement. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei released respective lists of some 3,600 products to be excluded, leading some analysts to speculate the countries are not prepared to take the necessary steps to establish an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). What are they going to be trading that they don't (all produce) in common," asked Robert Broadfoot of Hong Kong's Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Group. "I wish I could be more optimistic." Source: Mark Magnier, "ASEAN Nations Detail Products to be Excluded from Accord," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, December 24, 1992, p. 3A. _________________________________________________________ Resources: 1. ON GUARD FOR THEE: AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT, by Marjorie Montgomery Baker, is a Canadian analysis of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Originally published in 1988 by Voyageur Publishing, 82 Frontenac Street, Hull, Quebec, Canada. Tel: (819) 778-2946. _________________________________________________________ Other On-line Conferences: trade.strategy - a discussion of trade issues trade.library - a repository of trade information eai.news - a news summary of Latin American trade topics susag.news - a news summary of sustainable agriculture issues Produced by: 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 _________________________________________________________