TRADE NEWS BULLETIN Volume II Number 23 Monday, February 8, 1993 _________________________________________________________ NAFTA News Summary _________________________________________________________ CLINTON TELLS MULRONEY HE WILL NOT REOPEN NAFTA President Bill Clinton told Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney he would not seek renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a three-hour meeting Friday, Clinton told Mulroney he would instead pursue supplemental agreements on worker retraining and environmental protection. Clinton said he hoped to complete NAFTA and make "some changes that I think will be good for the Mexicans and good for the Canadians and the Americans." Clinton also told Mulroney the United States would work for a GATT accord "the whole world can be proud of and can be a prosperous part of." Mulroney told reporters he was "very reassured by the president's strong commitments." Source: Helen Thomas, "Clinton Reassures Mulroney on Trade Pact," UPI, February 6, 1993; Laurence McQuillan, "Focus-Clinton Vows Backing for Free Trade," REUTER, February 5, 1993. _________________________________________________________ ANTI-NAFTA COALITION INCLUDES ALL KINDS The Citizen Trade Campaign, a coalition of groups rallying against the North American Free Trade Agreement, is one of the most far- reaching ever built, according to a report by United Press International. Labor, environmental, farm, consumer, religious organizations and other groups have signed onto the campaign, which is partially responsible for the strong public opposition to the pact. Don Wiener, co-director of the Citizens' campaign, calls trade "the greatest coalition-building issue I've ever seen." Wiener contends the more people learn about NAFTA, the more they don't like. "There are job concerns and environmental concerns and concerns about such basic issues as the right to govern themselves," said Wiener. In fact, the campaign has been so successful that pro- NAFTA industry groups have formed their own coalition to show support for the pact. In other NAFTA news, witnesses at a public hearing sponsored by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce declared that NAFTA fails to protect U.S. jobs and will not narrow the gap between U.S. and Mexican environmental policies. The current NAFTA "does not protect wages, hours, working conditions, safety or environmental conditions," said International Brotherhood of Teamsters official Hugo Morris. None of the fourteen witnesses endorsed the agreement. SCAG's 70-member executive committee will send its recommendations to California's congressional delegation. Source: Jack Lesar, "Coalition Targets North American Free Trade Agreement," UPI, February 7, 1993; Bob Houser, "Witnesses at Calif. Hearing Air NAFTA Complaints," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, February 18, 1993. _________________________________________________________ GATT News Summary _________________________________________________________ LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR KANTOR - BRITTAN MEETING Supporters of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade are doubtful a speedy conclusion to the six-year old world trade talks can be reached. U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor dimmed hopes when he announced the Clinton Administration is still formulating its trade policy and would not commit to a timetable for completing the Uruguay Round of GATT, as the EC had suggested. EC Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan, who will meet with Kantor this Thursday in Washington, had tried to convince the administration to seek a renewal of fast-track negotiating authority. Brittan said that without fast-track, which requires Congress to vote yes or no without amendments, GATT could face delays of a year or more. Kantor and Brittan will also discuss two new bilateral trade disputes. EC ministers have denounced new U.S. duties on steel imports and criticized U.S. plans to restrict EC companies from bidding on U.S. government contracts. Reacting to the criticism, U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown denied the new administration was protectionist. Brown told reporters the steel decision was in the works long before President Clinton took office. "We believe in free trade; we also believe in fair trade," Brown said. "It certainly didn't tip our hat to any policy changes or any policy direction." Source: Lionel Barber, "White House Rebuffs EC on Timetable for GATT Talks," FINANCIAL TIMES, February 8, 1993; "U.S. Seeks to Reassure Allies Over Trade," REUTER, February 7, 1993; Peter Behr, "U.S. Prepares to Turn Up Heat on Trade," WASHINGTON POST, February 6, 1993. _________________________________________________________ AUSTRALIA PM PROPOSES LARGE COMMON MARKET Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has proposed an integrated market encompassing the Pacific, South East Asia, North Asia and North America. Keating said the arrangement would create "a market of two billion people producing half the world's output, bound together with harmonized trade rules, harmonized investment rules, harmonized standards and certification, and an agreed way of settling disputes between members." Keating said the regional action would help "remove administrative, legal, bureaucratic and infrastructural impediments to trade and investment." Keating said he was not yet proposing a full free-trade area between the nations and suggested Australia should still take full advantage of GATT. The area would include Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada and Mexico. Source: "Keating Pushes Asian, N. American Common Market," REUTER, Feb. 7, 1993. _________________________________________________________ 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 _________________________________________________________