TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume II Number 12 Thursday, January 21, 1993 _________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary _________________________________________________________ NAFTA WILL DEPRESS U.S. WAGES, WRITERS UNION SAYS In an opinion-editorial in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, Jonathan Tasini, president of the National Writers Union, argues the North American Free Trade Agreement will increase pressure on American workers "to accept lower wages and benefits lest their jobs join the exodus to the poorer, low-wage Mexican border." Claiming President Clinton is wrong to expect the current NAFTA pact to create millions of new high-paying jobs, Tasini calls on Clinton to embrace a new global philosophy that declares wages shall not be the basis for international competition. "Nine out of the 10 highest-growth occupations will be such service-oriented, low-paying jobs as retail clerk, janitor nursing aide," Tasini argues. "Millions of Americans will be fighting, many unsuccessfully, over low-wage jobs in the burgeoning service sector and the remnants of the high-wage industrial base." Source: Jonathan Tasini, "High Wages and NAFTA Can't Coexist," WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 21, 1993, p. A15. _________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary ____________________________________________________ PRESSURE BUILDING ON CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA Canadian dairy, poultry and egg farmers, who are trying to hold onto their supply management system which protects them from imports, are losing support in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a Canadian official acknowledged. "We have to be candid and realistic in terms of the support that exists," he said. "We do not have more support than we had at the start." The United States and other countries want tariffs to replace import quotas on agriculture products. The official said even Japan -- which is trying to maintain its ban on foreign rice imports -- was wavering. But recent statements from Japanese officials indicate the country is not ready to give in to pressure. "A country imports something which it is unable to supply by itself," Japanese Agriculture Minister Masami Tsaid recently. "I prefer not to talk about imports of something which a country is able to produce enough of." South Korea is also maintaining its resistance to rice imports. The ruling Democratic Liberal Party and opposition parties say even if the South Korean government accepts a change in rice policy, it would not get through the parliament. Japan and South Korea say rice production is an important part of their national heritage. It remains unclear what the countries would do if their refusal to accept rice imports was the only obstacle to the Uruguay Round. Source: "Canada Says GATT Support for Farm Stance Eroding," REUTER, January 20, 1993; Robert Evans, "Asian Resistance to Rice Imports Threatens GATT," REUTER, January 19, 1993; "Japan's Rice Import Ban Is Necessary - Farm Minister," REUTER, January 19, 1993. _________________________________________________________ GATT WILL EASE POVERTY, U.S. TELLS UNCTAD U.S. State Department official Melinda Kimble told the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) that a completed Uruguay Round of GATT would help promote economic growth and alleviate poverty in developing countries. UNCTAD has been meeting this week in Geneva to establish an agenda for its newly created Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation. More than 1.1 billion people currently live in absolute poverty said committee president, Chilean ambassador Ernesto Tironi. Source: "U.S. Says Market Access Key to Easing World Poverty," REUTER, January 20, 1993. _________________________________________________________ Other Trade News U.S. WILL ENACT NEW TARIFFS ON STEEL The U.S. Commerce Department will impose broad tariffs averaging as much as 25 percent on steel imports next week, steel industry officials and trade analysts predicted yesterday. The move would follow Tuesday's announced 167 percent tariffs on a narrow category of steel imports. American steel makers contend foreign competitors are violating U.S. antidumping laws by charging less for steel in the U.S. than in their own countries. The Commerce Department said yesterday that it would lift tariffs on imports of some display screens made in Japan. Major U.S. computer companies, many of which buy the screens, had lobbied for the move. The department made the announcement after the last remaining U.S. manufacturer of computer screens asked for the elimination of the tariff. Source: Keith Bradsher, "Steep Tariffs on Steel Expected Next Week," NEW YORK TIMES, January 21, 1993, p. C2; Asra Q. Nomani, "U.S. Cuts Duties on Some Japanese Computer Screens," WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 21, 1993, p. B5. _________________________________________________________ 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 _________________________________________________________