/* Written 10:09 AM Nov 23, 1994 by kmander in igc:trade.news */ /* ---------- "GATT Alert! 11-23-94" ---------- */ GATT Alert! Wednesday, November 23, 1994 ____________________________________________________ HEADLINES: National Call-In to Congress on November 29 Dole to Endorse GATT GATT Funding Unrelated to International Trade Clinton Administration Attempts to Silence Critics Administration Caught in GATT Lie National Farmers Organization States Reasons to Oppose GATT House Schedules Just Four Hours on GATT ____________________________________________________ National Call-In to Congress on November 29 The lame-duck Congress, with over 90 Members who have retired or have been voted out of office, is returning to Washington for one final vote --the vote on GATT. On Tuesday, November 29, citizens from around the United States will be calling Senators to state their disapproval with the lame-duck session and the plans to increase the federal deficit by $28 billion to pay for GATT. On Tuesday, call as many U.S. Senators as you can at (202) 224-3121. ____________________________________________________ Dole to Endorse GATT CNN and CNBC are reporting that Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R- Kansas) will endorse GATT sometime today. But the Clinton administration still does not have the required 60 votes in the Senate to pass GATT. Keep the pressure on! Call (202) 224-3121. ____________________________________________________ GATT Funding Unrelated to International Trade There is growing opposition to the Clinton administration's plan to pay for $12 billion of the $40 billion that GATT would cost the U.S. during the pact's first 10 years. A new report by the GATT Project reveals that 88% of the "funding" package is unrelated to international trade. Fifty-five percent relies on accounting gimmicks and pay-as-you-go budgeted surpluses that create no new money to offset real revenue losses. The administration was forced to rely on such gimmicks after House and Senate committees balked at the idea of taxing the multinational corporations that would benefit from the trade pact. "The Republicans' Contract With America promised fiscal responsibility. It would be ironic if they violated the pledge only weeks after the election by voting in favor of GATT implementing legislation filled with exactly the type of shenanigans they campaigned against," said Janice Shields, a researcher with the GATT Project. For more information, call the GATT Project at (202) 387- 8030. ____________________________________________________ Clinton Administration Attempts to Silence Critics Several radio and television stations are refusing to broadcast advertisements critical of GATT. Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, a committed free-trader, would not run anti-GATT ads submitted to his television and radio shows by fellow conservatives Pat Buchanan and Phyllis Schlafly. In Washington, D.C., WRC TV Channel 4 was the only television station willing to broadcast several anti-GATT ads sponsored by the Citizens' Trade Campaign. But the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative called the station to complain and WRC promptly pulled the ads, asking the CTC to back up its claims that the WASHINGTON POST would receive a huge kickback in the GATT implementing legislation. When told that the evidence came directly from a WASHINGTON POST article, the station claimed to need further proof of that and other allegations. Implore WRC not to cave in to White House pressure. Call (202) 885-4300. ____________________________________________________ Administration Caught in GATT Lie Not only is the Clinton administration making outlandish predictions on the economic benefits of passing GATT, it is also misrepresenting the U.S. success percentage in GATT disputes. On ABC's NIGHTLINE television program October 4, USTR Mickey Kantor claimed the United States "won 80 percent of the time in Geneva over the last 47 years..." In fact, the U.S. won 80 percent of the time only when the U.S. charged other countries with violating GATT laws. When other countries charged the U.S. with violations, the U.S. won a comparatively minuscule 21 percent of the time. ____________________________________________________ National Farmers Organization States Reasons to Oppose GATT The Agricultural Alliance for GATT, an industry coalition of 265 agribusiness and trade groups, has argued that GATT would benefit farmers. However, the National Farmers Organization (NFO), which is made up of real-live farmers, is adamantly opposed to the trade pact. NFO President Steve Halloran recently gave these reasons to oppose the Uruguay Round: * GATT supersedes U.S. law, taking political power away from the people. * Large trading companies will benefit, not farmers. * Poor statistical historic evidence that serving new international markets actually raises commodity prices for the farmer. * Vote should be postponed until the next congressional session because it is more representative of the voters' beliefs and wishes than the old Congress. For more information, contact the NFO's Thayne Cozart at (515) 292- 2000, ext. 270. ____________________________________________________ House Schedules Just Four Hours on GATT The House of Representatives has scheduled just four hours to debate the 22,000-page Uruguay Round agreement. To put that in perspective, the House spent five hours in 1989 considering the merits of a large pay raise. "The deep cynicism of voters is understandable when you see the House of Representatives devoting more time on the floor to its Members paychecks than a global trade pact that raises disturbing questions about constitutional treaty powers, the balance of power between our state and federal governments, the supremacy of commercial interests over consumers, the environment, workers and democratic processes," said consumer advocate Ralph Nader. For more information, contact the GATT Project's Andrew Wheat at (202) 387-8030. ____________________________________________________ GATT ALERT! is published weekly by the Fair Trade Campaign. If you have news about local activities or anything else, please send a note to the Fair Trade Campaign, Box 80066, Minneapolis, MN 55408. For information on receiving GATT ALERT!, call (612) 379- 5965. ____________________________________________________
