/* Written 2:07 PM Nov 16, 1994 by kmander in igc:trade.news */ /* ---------- "Trade Week 11-17-94" ---------- */ Trade Week in Review Thursday, November 17, 1994 Volume 3, Number 46 _________________________________________________ HEADLINES: Over 90 Lame Ducks Will Determine GATT Outcome Dole Wants Provision Allowing U.S. to Withdraw; Helms Asks for Delay in Vote Human Rights Protests Disrupt APEC Meeting Pro-GATT Forces Hope Elections Don't Stall GATT Organized Labor Suffers Big Loss in Elections GATT Rules Against U.S. Fuel Standards Resources _________________________________________________ GATT NEWS SUMMARY _________________________________________________ Over 90 Lame Ducks Will Determine GATT Outcome The 103rd Congress is scheduled to return to Washington the week after Thanksgiving for a special lame-duck vote on GATT. Over 80 Representatives, including House Speaker Tom Foley, and 11 Senators, including Majority Leader George Mitchell, will not be returning next year. The lame-duck session is limited to GATT unless members of Congress vote unanimously to bring up other issues. Many opponents of GATT argue that such an important issue as GATT should not be decided by a lame-duck Congress, especially at a time many retiring or voted-out members will be looking for employment. The Senate Commerce Committee held hearings Monday on the GATT funding mechanism that could give billion-dollar discounts to three companies for new wireless telephone licenses. Both current chair, Senator Ernest Hollings (D-South Carolina), and the probable new chair, Senator Larry Pressler (R-South Dakota), have criticized the administration for slipping the provision into GATT implementing legislation. Sources: "US Trying to Work Out GATT Deal," REUTER, November 14, 1994; Rex Nutting, "Administration Defends PCS Deal in GATT," UPI, November 14, 1994. _________________________________________________ Dole Wants Provision Allowing U.S. to Withdraw; Helms Asks for Delay in Vote Republicans continue to express reservations about the World Trade Organization's impact on U.S. sovereignty. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kansas) said this week he would only support GATT legislation if the Clinton administration backs a separate proposal to allow greater congressional oversight over U.S. participation in the WTO. Dole wants the administration to break up GATT legislation to allow a second vote next year on a procedure the U.S. can use to withdraw from the WTO if it proves detrimental to U.S. interests. Meanwhile, in a letter to President Clinton, Senator Jesse Helms (R- North Carolina) asked for a delay in the Senate vote to permit public hearings. Helms, who is in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Clinton that allowing hearings on the WTO's impact on U.S. sovereignty would have "an exceedingly positive effect on my making certain that the Administration's positions on all foreign policy matters during the 104th Congress will be considered fairly and fully." Helms, Idaho Republican Larry Craig and South Carolina Republican Strom Thurmond reportedly also sent a letter to Dole seeking a postponement of the vote. Many other Republicans are opposed to waiving Senate budget rules to pass GATT. Clinton was unable to replace the estimated $40 billion over 10 years in lost tariff revenues resulting from GATT. Outgoing Senate Finance Committee Chair Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-New York) said Clinton has only 26 of the 60 Senate votes needed to waive budget constraints and pass GATT. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) supports GATT, arguing that the WTO will not impact U.S. sovereignty. Despite Gingrich's support, there is some resistance in the House of Representatives. Representative Bill Archer (R-Texas), who will take over as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, suggested that GATT legislation would be stalled unless Clinton adds a measure to reduce capital gains tax taxes. Sources: "Dole Says He Will Support GATT Bill If President Backs New Proposal on WTO," BNA, November 15, 1994; "U.S. Sen. Helms Seeks Delay on GATT Vote," REUTER, November 15, 1994; David E. Sanger, "Helms Requests A Delay in Vote on Trade Accord," NEW YORK TIMES, November 16, 1994; Kelly Mcparland, "Fears About GATT Follow Republican Landslide," FINANCIAL POST, November 11, 1994; "Moynihan Says Key GATT Vote Far Short in Senate," REUTER, November 13, 1994; Dave Skidmore, "Congress-World Trade," AP, November 14, 1994; "Bankers' Bane Takes Key Senate Committee Post," GUARDIAN, November 11, 1994. _________________________________________________ Human Rights Protests Disrupt APEC Meeting The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit ended amid continued protests over the human rights record of the host country, Indonesia. President Clinton, who had hoped the trip would restore some of his presidential luster while allowing him to promote GATT, was forced to spend much of the time fending off questions over human rights. Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher refused to meet with student protesters who camped on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy and have requested political asylum in Portugal. During the summit, students held three days of protests in Dili, the capital of East Timor, over Indonesia's brutal annexation of East Timor in 1975. The human rights issue was so sensitive that visiting reporters were instructed only to pose questions about the economic summit. When asked about the East Timor problem, Indonesian President Suharto, who has maintained authoritarian rule over the country for 40 years, said there was no time to answer the question. At the summit, the U.S. and 17 other Pacific Rim nations agreed informally to remove all trade and investment barriers in the region by 2020. The Bogor Accord, which is not a legal agreement, also calls for implementation of commitments made in the Uruguay Round. An editorial in Wednesday's NEW YORK TIMES criticized the accord for failing to include any substantive measures. Sources: Kenneth R. Bazinet, "Clinton Holds Out Hope for GATT," UPI, November 14, 1994; Craig Forman, Dan Biers, "APEC Nations Agree to Remove Trade Barriers Around Pacific Rim," WALL STREET JOURNAL, November 16, 1994; "Smoke, Not Substance, at APEC," NEW YORK TIMES, November 16, 1994; Elaine Sciolino, "Leaders Agree on Free Trade for the Pacific," NEW YORK TIMES, November 16, 1994. _________________________________________________ Pro-GATT Forces Hope Elections Don't Stall GATT GATT supporters around the world are hoping that Republican victories in the U.S. Congress will not obstruct U.S. ratification of GATT this year. "It was a Republican president who launched the Uruguay Round. Republicans have always prided themselves as being keen on free trade," said European Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan. GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland said the trade pact would suffer a "mortal blow" if the U.S. Congress failed to approve it. Only 31 of the 125 countries that participated in the Uruguay Round have ratified the trade pact. Sources: "US Election Result Will Not Hold Back WTO-Brittan," REUTER, November 10, 1994; "Sutherland Warning: WTO at Risk of 'Mortal Blow,'" DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR, November 10, 1994; _________________________________________________ Organized Labor Suffers Big Loss in Elections The shift to a Republican-controlled Congress and the defeat of several key pro-union lawmakers made organized labor one of the biggest losers in last week's election. "It's an unmitigated disaster," said Greg Tarpinian, executive director of the Labor Research Association, a pro-labor research group. "There's no positive spin that can be put on the outcome." Teamsters President Ron Carey called for a broad coalition of workers, environmentalists, consumers and others to work together against the corporate agenda and to fight against GATT. Sources: Robert L. Rose, "Labor Loses With Defeat of Pro-Union Lawmakers," WALL STREET JOURNAL, November 1994; John King, "The Campaign Is Over But Democratic Disunity Continues," AP, November 10, 1994. _________________________________________________ GATT Rules Against U.S. Fuel Standards A GATT panel has ruled that U.S. regulations to limit automobile fuel consumption are incompatible with GATT rules. The U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) laws requires that automakers average 27.5 miles per gallon across their entire fleet. The panel ruled in favor of the European Union, which had complained that the CAFE standards put its auto industry at a competitive disadvantage and that the law violated GATT's central tenet prohibiting trade "discrimination." The EU also filed complaints against the U.S. Gas Guzzler and Luxury taxes, but the three-person panel found those laws to be consistent with GATT rules. Sources: "GATT Panel Condemns U.S. Fuel Consumption Rules," AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, November 10, 1994; John Zarocostas, "Panel Rules US Fuel Act Operates as a Trade Barrier," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, October 2, 1994. _________________________________________________ RESOURCES _________________________________________________ For copies of the following, please contact the authors or organizations listed: "Greening the GATT: Setting the Agenda," CORNELL INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, Volume 27, Symposium 1994. Cornell Law School, Myron Taylor Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-4901. (607) 255-9666, Fax: (607) 255-7193. Individual issues: $12.00. A collection of papers presented at the 1994 Cornell International Law Journal Symposium "Greening the GATT: Setting the Agenda." Includes a foreword by Massachusetts Senator John Kerrey. _________________________________________________ For more information about the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________
