A-Infos (en) Next up-TAFTA/NTM

[PAConsumer <PAConsumer@aol.com>]

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Please help get the word out -- DISTRIBUTE BROADLY -- Source is
confidential EU memorandum -- NTM, WTO, Burma all covered below:

The so-called New TransAtlantic Marketplace (NTM) otherwise know
as the US-EU NAFTA called TransAtlantic Free Trade Agreement
(TAFTA) is alive and well. Reports from the week of the OECD MAI
Ministerial that the NTM has been killed off by the EU External
Ministers is FALSE.

Despite the total lack of negotiating authority having been
delegated to the US executive by the US Congress as required in
our federal constitution, the US and EU plan to announce the
formal launch of two year TAFTA negotiations at the May 18
Summit. It will include the investment agenda, Genetically
Modified Organisms, ending human rights investment sanctions and
harmonization of Food, Health, Environmental standards for sure.

All of this information comes from a May 5, 1998 internal
Communique from the "Senior Level Group" of EU DG 1 reporting to
EU Missions about the EU-US Meeting. Unfortunately I was not able
to take away a copy, but was able to read and take notes.
Sentences in quotation marks are direct quotes from the memo
which I copied into my notes.

The following was reported -- by the way, with chapeau language
noting that following the Brussels External Ministers meeting on
April 27, certain "procedural issues" (??? - sic) were taken into
account during the US-EU Summit planing meeting that is the
subject of the memo. Reported from the meeting was:

1. Negotiations continue between the US and EU on the launch
statement and formal negotiating framework document to be
released at the May US-EU Summit for formal negotiation launch.
It will be short, but specific in laying out commitments.

2. "US (Eizenstadt) would welcome a statement on the proposed
NTMA negotiating program as specific as possible at the Summit."

3. Eizenstadt confirmed the "full support of the US government
agencies" to the EU proposal for "a significant initiative" to be
completed in a two year negotiation. (Lori's note: not true, EPA
and others have troubles!)

4. US delegation reported at meeting that their meetings with
French government representatives prior to this meeting confirmed
EU level assurances that the actual French position is less
oppositional to initiation of NTM at Summit than was expressed
for "public consumption" at the April 17, 1998 meeting of EU
external ministers.

5. US was reminded that successful negotiations will be promoted
by settlement of pending issues about US unilateral investment
sanctions.

When I asked several EU contacts in Europe what had happened to
the supposed "death" of the NTM via the External Ministers
declaration, they said that this high level meeting had followed
the Ministers meeting and they were going forward as always
planned!

Also -- they noted that the "spin" US and EU representatives
would use was that "environment and labor" were being included in
the NTM agenda. But, that was this meant that there would be a
private sector advisory group like that planned for establishment
under FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) to allow NGO input.
Neither labor nor environment and/or their relations to
investment/trade issues were to be negotiating topics themselves,
however, except perhaps to reference support for inclusion of
GATT Article XX-like exceptions for plant, animal, human life and
health, etc..

Also, on related items from this US-EU meeting:

ON WTO MINISTERIAL -- 1. US-EU common agenda of priorities for
ministerial are:

  a) reaffirm importance of multilateral trade system

  b) promote full implementation of Uruguay Round

  c) highlight the positive effects of world trade on growth and
employment

  d) commitments for further liberalization

  e) press importance of work on WTO accession cases now pending

NOTE: NOTHING HERE ON TRANSPARENCY OR ENVIRONMENT! Just an
amusing point of difference between the rhetoric our assorted
governments are dishing out and what they really mean to do at
the WTO Ministerial... same old, same old.

Also -- Eizenstad reiterated that the US would NOT be amused to
be surprised by an EU call for much less a Ruggerio announcement
of hopes for a Millennium Round of GATT negotiations.

ALSO: ON BURMA INVESTMENT BAN -- The memo had a section on this
issue which noted that the EU was still considering "if Rushing's
offer to weaken the law was sufficient to solve the concrete
problem." It noted that Eizenstadt communicated to DG1 that
Rushing (who is the Massachusetts legislator who passed the
original law) wished to meet one more time with the EU
representatives and also noted that the EU's seeming disinterest
in this and the filing of the domestic court case against the law
might be taken into account by Rushing as far as the amount of
effort he exerts in passing this ameliorative amendment.

YIKES!  What plan of action should be pursued? In France? In EU?
In US where Congress has said no to NTM.

Lori M. Wallach
215 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Washington DC  20003  USA
ph: 1-202-546-4996 x307
fax: 1-202-547-7392
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Pennsylvania Consumer Action Network
223 North Brobst Street
Reading, PA 19607
(610) 775-5958-v
(610) 775-2953-f
paconsumer@aol.com



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