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- From: lang@igc.apc.org (Andrew Lang)
- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
- Subject: TRADE.NEWS 11-9-92
- Message-ID: <1992Nov10.014604.5229@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Date: 10 Nov 92 01:46:04 GMT
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- /* Written 2:52 pm Nov 9, 1992 by kmander@igc.apc.org in igc:trade.news */
- /* ---------- "TRADE.NEWS 11-9-92" ---------- */
-
- TRADE NEWS BULLETIN
- Monday, November 9, 1992
- _________________________________________________________
- GATT News Summary
- _________________________________________________________
- DUNKEL MAY MEDIATE US-EC TRADE DISPUTE
-
- General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) chief Arthur Dunkel
- will probably receive full authority to serve as a mediator in the
- trade crisis developing between the United States and the European
- Community. After a Friday meeting with senior officials from more
- than 30 nations, Dunkel scheduled a meeting for Tuesday of the
- Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) at which he is expected to ask
- GATT member nations for permission to intervene.
-
- Several countries have been asking Dunkel for months to act as a
- mediator in the long-running dispute over agriculture payments, but
- until now Dunkel has refused, hoping the two sides would reach a
- settlement on their own. Apparently, Dunkel changed his mind after
- the Bush Administration announced it would slap $300 million worth
- of punitive tariffs on EC goods entering the United States.
-
- EC trade ministers met informally near London over the weekend in
- an attempt to avoid an ensuing trade war with the United States.
- The ministers agreed not to announce counter-measures against the
- U.S., and instead urged that new talks on the issue be held. EC
- foreign ministers will meet today in Brussels; they are also expected
- to refrain from announcing retaliatory measures.
-
- British Prime Minister John Major has been working hard to solve
- the agriculture dispute and complete the Uruguay Round of GATT.
- The British Chambers of Commerce and other business groups have
- urged Major to use Britain's position as EC president to work for a
- breakthrough. Major and European Commission President Jacques
- Delors talked privately in London Friday and released a joint
- statement calling on agriculture negotiators to "re-engage without
- delay" to reach a compromise. Major also telephoned German
- Chancellor Helmut Kohl to enlist his support, but Kohl was hesitant to
- put pressure on France.
-
- U.S. and EC officials said they were generally optimistic a settlement
- could be reached. U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills said she
- expected the two sides to return to the negotiating table and that a
- trade war would be averted. Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan
- sounded less optimistic however, saying the U.S. and EC were still far
- from a deal. "I must have an honorable deal, a responsible deal, and
- a deal that is going to be perceived as being fair to the entire world,
- and we're not anywhere near that," Madigan said Friday.
-
- EC External Affairs Commissioner Frans Andriessen said he was
- hopeful a pact could be reached but warned that each side must be
- prepared to compromise. He rejected a German proposal for a
- summit between Major, Delors and U.S. President George Bush, saying
- it would create "an unpredictable situation from which no one will
- benefit."
-
- Source: John Zarocostas, "GATT Director May Intercede in EC-US
- Fight," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, November 9, 1992, p. 1; Jill Serjeant,
- "EC Trade Ministers Attempt to Revive Trade Talks," REUTER,
- November 7, 1992; Michael Cassell, "Threat of Trade War Upsets UK
- Business," FINANCIAL TIMES, November 7,8 1992, p. 2; "Andriessen
- Says Both Sides Must Compromise on GATT," REUTER, November 8,
- 1992;
- _________________________________________________________
- US PREPARING SECOND RETALIATION LIST
-
- In announcing punitive tariffs on European products last week, U.S.
- Trade Representative Carla Hills also released a new list of EC goods
- that face new taxes if a settlement is not reached soon. The new list
- includes tires, perfumes, paper, ceramics, glassware, pipes and tubes,
- records and tapes, and furniture.
-
- John McInespie, a trade analyst with a Washington, DC law firm, said
- the tariffs will not hurt U.S. consumers. "The Americans were quite
- clever in this," McInespie said. "There are American alternatives for
- every one of these (proposed targets)."
-
- Source: Nancy Dunne, "Washington Prepares Its Second Volley,"
- FINANCIAL TIMES, November 7,8 1992, p. 2.
- _________________________________________________________
- OTHER TRADE DISPUTES ERUPTING IN GATT
-
- During two days of meetings of the GATT Governing Council, a
- number of issues unrelated to the EC-U.S. dispute over agriculture
- subsidies were raised.
-
- The six-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- called a new Austrian law "a unilateral and discriminatory action."
- The measure, which went into effect September 1, requires that eco-
- labels be used to identify tropical timber and products that come
- from "sustainable forests." Argentina, Canada, Brazil and others
- backed the complaint, noting that the Austrian law does not require
- similar labeling for timber from temperate climates imported into or
- produced in Austria.
-
- Meanwhile, the 22 developing nations that form the International
- Textiles and Clothing Bureau complained that U.S. fees on imported
- cotton products are discriminatory because non-cotton fibers are
- exempt from the duties. Rufus Yerxa, deputy U.S. trade
- representative, said the tariff, which has been in effect since July 31,
- is intended to help research aimed at increasing domestic
- consumption of cotton.
-
- Mexico criticized the recent Venezuelan move to ban the import of
- Mexican cement. Venezuela's decision, which resulted in the return
- of a shipment to Mexico, came after Venezuelan producers asked for
- protection from Mexican competition.
-
- Source: John Zarocostas, "Disputes Load GATT Agenda As New Rules
- Prove Elusive," JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, November 9, 1992, p. 14A.
- _________________________________________________________
-
- NAFTA News Summary
- _________________________________________________________
- CANADIAN FARMERS OPPOSE NAFTA
-
- An editorial in Canada's UNION FARMER newspaper argues the North
- American Free Trade Agreement will not be the "pathway to
- prosperity" that Prime Minister Brian Mulroney promises. In fact,
- the newspaper states, a document intended to drum up support for
- NAFTA actually "confirms the worst scenarios predicted by free-
- trade critics." The newspaper contends that under NAFTA, fruit and
- vegetable growers "are going to be given between five and ten years
- to adjust to producing commodities at a loss while protective tariffs
- are steadily reduced every year."
-
- The Canadian government claims that increased opportunities in
- Mexico will make up for any decrease in domestic sales. But the
- Canadian National Farmers' Union has argued the Canadian
- horticultural sector will not survive without import restrictions that
- prevent corporations from dumping American or Mexican products
- into the Canadian markets at depressed prices.
-
- Source: "NAFTA Not the Promised 'Pathway to Prosperity,'" UNION
- FARMER, November 1992, p. 4.
- _________________________________________________________
- 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.org
-
- Other On-line Conferences:
-
- trade.strategy - a discussion of trade issues
- trade.library - a repository of trade information
- eai.news - a news summary of Latin American trade topics
- susag.news - a news summary of sustainable agriculture issues
- _________________________________________________________
-