Please forward to all interested persons and organizations. Later this week -- the latest report is Wednesday night or Thursday morning -- the House is expected to vote on an amendment to the Commerce-State-Justice appropriations bill which would bar the use of federal funds to overturn state laws on the basis that they are NAFTA/GATT/MAI illegal. It seems that the amendment has a good chance of passing. In addition to being a worthy amendment in its own right, the passage or even near-passage of this amendment could have a salutary effect on the ongoing MAI negotiations. The reason is that the applicability of the MAI to so-called sub-federal units in the US, that is, state and local governments, is a major sticking point in the negotiations. Europe and Japan want to make sure that state sanctions will be overturned by the US as part of any MAI treaty. If the US cannot credibly promise to do this, it will undermine the US negotiating position. For example, if the US cannot promise to overturn such state laws, it is not likely that they will get France or Canada to agree to anything less than a total carve-out for culture. But if the US agrees to a carve-out for culture, the US entertainment industry will walk, and the Administration will lose a key business constituency for the MAI. The timing of this amendment is propitious. The recent threat by Switzerland to challenge state sanctions against Swiss banks over the issue of Holocaust compensation has awakened a new constituency to the threats which such agreements pose to democracy. Needless to say, to the extent that Members of Congress hear from their constituents over the next few days that this is an issue of concern, that would be a positive development. > Explanation of the Kucinich-Sanders-Ros Lehtinen-DeFazio-Stearns > amendment to HR 4276 > > > > The purpose of this amendment is to deny funding for federal legal > challenges to any state, local or tribal law that is inconsistent with > any international trade or investment agreement. Pursuant to the GATT > and NAFTA implementing legislation, the U.S. federal government is > obligated to pursue every means, including a federal legal suit, to have > repealed state and local laws that are inconsistent with the WTO. > Federal authority and responsibility to challenge in Federal court are > 19 USC Section 3512 (b) (2), and 19 USC 3312 (b) (2). The > Kucinich-Sanders-Ros Lehtinen-DeFazio-Stearns amendment simply denies > funds for those legal challenges in federal court. The effect of > passing this amendment will be to protect important state and local > laws, such as the Holocaust Victim Compensation laws being considered by > the City of New York, and the States of New Jersey and California, as > well as the Burma Selective Purchase laws passed or being considered by > 22 cities and four states including New York City. The amendment has > been endorsed by Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Ralph Nader, B'nai B'rith, > Free Burma Coalition and many other groups. ---------------End of Original Message----------------- ------------------------------- Robert Naiman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Preamble Center for Public Policy 1737 21st NW Washington, DC 20009 phone: 202-265-3263 fax: 202-265-3647 http://www.RTK.NET/preamble/ Date: 07/27/98 Time: 12:30:06 -------------------------------
