From kmander@igc.apc.org Date: 28 Sep 94 07:01 PDT From: Kai Mander Reply to: "Conference trade.news" To: "Recipients of conference trade.news" Newsgroups: trade.news Subject: Trade Week 9-28-94 Trade Week in Review and Resources Wednesday, September 28, 1994 Volume 3, Number 39 _________________________________________________ Headlines: White House Plans to Introduce Legislation Tuesday Report Says 90 California Laws at Risk OMB Director Says Budget Waiver Would Hurt U.S. Perot Rips Clinton on GATT Vermont Senators Seek Dairy Program in GATT Executives, Workers Differ on GATT Telecommunications Discount Proposed in GATT Resources __________________________________________________ GATT NEWS SUMMARY __________________________________________________ White House Plans to Introduce Legislation Tuesday The Clinton administration failed to introduce GATT legislation to Congress Monday and now intends to introduce the bill late Tuesday. Democratic leaders hope to bring the legislation to the floor next week. Several controversial issues have still not been resolved, including : a Senate proposal to renew the Super 301 trade law in its original form; a House proposal to grant textile quota and tariff benefits for Caribbean nations similar to measures in NAFTA; and a House proposal to alter the process for determining the origin of textile products entering the U.S. Sources: "Introduction of GATT Legislation Delayed Until Tuesday," CONGRESSDAILY, September 26, 1994; "Gore Lobbying for Textile Benefits in GATT Measure," CONGRESSDAILY, September 23, 1994. __________________________________________________ Report Says 90 California Laws at Risk A new report by Washington DC's Center for Policy Alternatives, cites more than 90 California state laws that would be at risk under the Uruguay Round of GATT. "Opening markets to expand U.S. jobs is a good idea, but free trade under GATT isn't free," said Robert Stumberg, author of the report, IMPACT OF GATT ON STATE LAW -- CALIFORNIA. Some of the California laws threatened under GATT, according to the report, include those governing air pollution, agriculture, job creation, food labeling and taxes. Source: "More Than 90 California State Laws at Risk Under GATT," CPA NEWS, September 27, 1994. __________________________________________________ OMB Director Says Budget Waiver Would Hurt U.S. In an August 8 letter to Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin), Alice Rivlin, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, said waiving Senate budget rules would hurt the United States. Rivlin declared that if "Congress were to reverse the progress that has been made on budget discipline over the past few years, we could lose more than we would gain from the GATT accords." Feingold had written President Bill Clinton July 15 to oppose waiving the Budget Enforcement Act for GATT implementing legislation. Senate rules require balanced budgets for ten years, meaning that in order to offset lost federal tariff revenue under GATT President Clinton would have to increase other taxes or cut spending. It appears now the White House will seek the budget exemption. Source: Letter from OMB Director Alice Rivlin to Senator Russell Feingold, August 8, 1994. __________________________________________________ Perot Rips Clinton on GATT Billionaire Ross Perot has stepped up his attacks on GATT and President Clinton, urging people to write their members of Congress in opposition to GATT. In an advertisement in Monday's ROLL CALL newspaper, Perot argued President Clinton's decision to waive Senate budget rules would add $30 billion to the U.S. deficit. "In short, the American people will have to pay more taxes for the dubious privilege of de- industrializing America, shipping even more U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas, and further lowering the standard of living of the working American -- the world's most productive worker." The ad tells readers they can call the Manufacturing Policy Project at (202) 543-1212 for more information. In an opinion piece in Monday's NEW ENGLAND COUNTRY FOLKS, Perot criticizes Clinton for rushing the 22,000-page GATT through Congress "before the American people know anything about it." Perot concludes: "If Congress passes this legislation before November, it will become the shining argument for term limits, beginning in the 1994 mid-term elections." Sources: "An Open Letter From Ross Perot on GATT and the Federal Budget Deficit," ROLL CALL, September 26, 1994; Rogers Worthington, "Perot Still Preaching, But Does He Pack Same Punch?" CHICAGO TRIBUNE, September 23, 1994; Ross Perot, "GATT - The 1994 October Surprise," NEW ENGLAND COUNTRY FOLKS, September 26, 1994. _________________________________________________ Vermont Senators Seek Dairy Program in GATT A report in the BURLINGTON FREE PRESS states that Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) will not support GATT unless the administration includes a "self-help" dairy export program in implementing legislation. The program would create an oversight board run by dairy farmers and use export subsidies to help farmers sell products abroad. The proposed program is similar to many programs the U.S. wants its trading partners to eliminate. So far the White House has refused to include the program in GATT legislation. However, the administration may make some concessions if it lacks support for the controversial trade pact. "If they're scrambling for votes, what they say today may not be true tomorrow," said Leahy spokesperson Joe Jamele. Senator James Jeffords (R-Vermont) announced Saturday he would vote against GATT because the dairy program is not included in the bill. Source: Ellyn Ferguson, "Leahy May Deal on GATT Vote," BURLINGTON FREE PRESS, September 27, 1994. __________________________________________________ Executives, Workers Differ on GATT Arguing that GATT would add billions of dollars to the economy, chief executives of several large U.S. corporations urged Congress Friday to pass the Uruguay Round. "If we do not act now, the very least we lose is momentum," said Stanley Gault, chair and chief executive of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. "We could lose a lot more. We could lose the whole thing." Labor union representatives argued the trade pact would hurt workers around the world. "Right off the Uruguay Round didn't look at the issue of worker's rights," said Greg Woodward, chief economist of the AFL-CIO Task Force on Trade. "When you put our workers in competition with workers in countries with governments that suppress them -- we just can't support that. If you can put restrictions on intellectual property, why can't you do something for international labor rights?" Source: Jennifer Van Doren, "GATT Gets Corporate Enthusiasm; Ohio Executives Urge Congress to OK Pact," PLAIN DEALER, September 24, 1994. __________________________________________________ Telecommunications Discount Proposed in GATT Language has apparently been included in GATT implementing legislation that would grant companies that have received broadband personal communications service licenses at least a 15 percent discount off the full price of a broadcast spectrum. The government could lose $1.5 billion over what it would receive if the licenses were freely auctioned, according to one economic analysis. The issue has little to do with GATT, but administration officials think the measure is more likely to pass as part of GATT legislation, which is under fast-track negotiating rules, than if the measure was added to a telecommunications bill. Sources: "30% Discount Proposed; Pioneers Would Pay at Least $400 Million Under GATT Compromise," COMMUNICATIONS DAILY, September 23, 1994; "Teleco Item in GATT Implementing Bill Prompts Stir," CONGRESSDAILY, September 23, 1994. _________________________________________________ RESOURCES _________________________________________________ For copies of the following, please contact the authors or organizations listed: "International Trade: Issues Concerning the Generalized System of Preferences Program," General Accounting Office, June 20, 1994. 9 pages. Testimony of Allan I. Mendelowitz, Managing Director, International Trade, Finance, and Competitiveness, General Government Division, before the Senate Finance subcommittee on International Trade. Orders may be placed by contacting the General Accounting Office, PO Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD 20884-6015. Tel: (202) 512-6000. Order number: GAO/T-GGD-94-174. First copy is free. Additional copies are $2. "Foreign Control Watchdog," a publication of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA), (New Zealand), September 1994. 54 pages. The current issue includes articles: "GATTing ROUND: NZ's Uruguay Round Offer," "GATT (Uruguay Round) Bill: Patents Act Changes," "Mobil-ising for GATT: The Demise of Democracy?" by Dennis Small. CAFCA membership is NZ$15 per year. CAFCA, PO Box 2258, Christchurch, New Zealand. _________________________________________________ For more information about the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, send email to iatp-info@igc.apc.org. Trade Week in Review is produced by: Kai Mander Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) 1313 5th Street, SE, Suite 303 Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA tel: (612) 379-5980 fax: (612) 379-5982 email: kmander@igc.apc.org _________________________________________________