NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/10237

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From: [e-mail] (Kai Mander)
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Subject: TRADE.NEWS 1-21-93
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TRADE NEWS BULLETIN  Volume II Number 12
Thursday, January 21, 1993
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NAFTA News Summary
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NAFTA WILL DEPRESS U.S. WAGES, WRITERS UNION SAYS

In an opinion-editorial in the WALL STREET JOURNAL, Jonathan
Tasini, president of the National Writers Union, argues the North
American Free Trade Agreement will increase pressure on American
workers "to accept lower wages and benefits lest their jobs join the
exodus to the poorer, low-wage Mexican border."  Claiming President
Clinton is wrong to expect the current NAFTA pact to create millions
of new high-paying jobs, Tasini calls on Clinton to embrace a new
global philosophy that declares wages shall not be the basis for
international competition.  "Nine out of the 10 highest-growth
occupations will be such service-oriented, low-paying jobs as retail
clerk, janitor nursing aide," Tasini argues.  "Millions of Americans
will be fighting, many unsuccessfully, over low-wage jobs in the
burgeoning service sector and the remnants of the high-wage
industrial base."

Source: Jonathan Tasini, "High Wages and NAFTA Can't Coexist,"
WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 21, 1993, p. A15.
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GATT News Summary
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PRESSURE BUILDING ON CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA

Canadian dairy, poultry and egg farmers, who are trying to hold onto
their supply management system which protects them from imports,
are losing support in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a
Canadian official acknowledged.  "We have to be candid and realistic
in terms of the support that exists," he said.  "We do not have more
support than we had at the start."  The United States and other
countries want tariffs to replace import quotas on agriculture
products.

The official said even Japan -- which is trying to maintain its ban on
foreign rice imports -- was wavering.  But recent statements from
Japanese officials indicate the country is not ready to give in to
pressure.  "A country imports something which it is unable to supply
by itself," Japanese Agriculture Minister Masami Tsaid
recently.  "I prefer not to talk about imports of something which a
country is able to produce enough of."

South Korea is also maintaining its resistance to rice imports.  The
ruling Democratic Liberal Party and opposition parties say even if
the South Korean government accepts a change in rice policy, it
would not get through the parliament.  Japan and South Korea say
rice production is an important part of their national heritage.  It
remains unclear what the countries would do if their refusal to
accept rice imports was the only obstacle to the Uruguay Round.

Source: "Canada Says GATT Support for Farm Stance Eroding,"
REUTER, January 20, 1993; Robert Evans, "Asian Resistance to Rice
Imports Threatens GATT," REUTER, January 19, 1993; "Japan's Rice
Import Ban Is Necessary - Farm Minister," REUTER, January 19, 1993.
_________________________________________________________
GATT WILL EASE POVERTY, U.S. TELLS UNCTAD

U.S. State Department official Melinda Kimble told the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) that a completed
Uruguay Round of GATT would help promote economic growth and
alleviate poverty in developing countries.  UNCTAD has been meeting
this week in Geneva to establish an agenda for its newly created
Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation.  More than 1.1 billion
people currently live in absolute poverty said committee president,
Chilean ambassador Ernesto Tironi.

Source: "U.S. Says Market Access Key to Easing World Poverty,"
REUTER, January 20, 1993.
_________________________________________________________
Other Trade News

U.S. WILL ENACT NEW TARIFFS ON STEEL

The U.S. Commerce Department will impose broad tariffs averaging
as much as 25 percent on steel imports next week, steel industry
officials and trade analysts predicted yesterday.  The move would
follow Tuesday's announced 167 percent tariffs on a narrow category
of steel imports.  American steel makers contend foreign competitors
are violating U.S. antidumping laws by charging less for steel in the
U.S. than in their own countries.

The Commerce Department said yesterday that it would lift tariffs on
imports of some display screens made in Japan.  Major U.S. computer
companies, many of which buy the screens, had lobbied for the
move.  The department made the announcement after the last
remaining U.S. manufacturer of computer screens asked for the
elimination of the tariff.

Source: Keith Bradsher, "Steep Tariffs on Steel Expected Next Week,"
NEW YORK TIMES, January 21, 1993, p. C2; Asra Q. Nomani, "U.S. Cuts
Duties on Some Japanese Computer Screens," WALL STREET JOURNAL,
January 21, 1993, p. B5.
_________________________________________________________
Produced by:
Kai Mander
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
1313 Fifth Street SE, Suite #303 Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA
Telephone:[phone] Fax:[phone]
E-Mail:[e-mail]
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