A huge victory for family farmers and the environment
Mark Ritchie (mritchie@iatp.org)
Sun, 27 Sep 1998 04:38:36 -0500
>Subject: NAFTA: 'Fast-track' defeated in House, again
>Subject: NAFTA: 'Fast-track' defeated in House, again
>From: agents@inquisit.com
>To: mritchie@iatp.org
>X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687
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>X-Inquisit-AgentName: NAFTA
>Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 16:14:51 PDT
>
>
> 'Fast-track' defeated in House, again
> (UPI; 09/25/98)
>
>WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) _ The House of Representatives has soundly
rejected
>an attempt to renew ''fast-track'' trade negotiating authority for the
>president.
>
>Opponents of the plan burst into cheers tonight after the final vote,
243-180
>against, was announced.
>
>The policy, which expired almost six years ago, allows the president to
send
>trade bills to Congress under expedited rules that require a straight
yes-or-no
> vote and do not allow members to offer amendments.
>
>President Clinton, who has been without fast-track authority for most of
his
>administration, supports renewal, but asked Republicans that the bill not
be
>brought up before the election because he felt they did not have the votes
for
>passage. Democrats have accused the House leadership of pushing the bill to
>embarrass the president and create a hot-button election issue.
>
>Fast-track supporters say U.S. trade has been crippled by a lack of
agreements
>with emerging economies like Chile, and that its exports are losing out to
>other nation's trade pacts.
>
>Some representatives from agricultural areas seized onto fast-track as a
last-
>ditch hope for local exporters, who have been pummeled by flagging overseas
>markets and falling commodity prices. The reauthorization bill included a
>provision requiring the U.S. trade representative to consider the impact
>treaties will have on U.S. agriculture.
>
>But manufacturing areas are dead-set against fast-track, which they blame
for
>speeding the North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress, and
sending
>many industrial jobs south of the border. They blame **NAFTA** and other
fast-
>track compacts for the loss of 400,000 American jobs.
>
>Other opponents say the fast-track legislation does not include any
requirement
> that U.S. negotiators take environmental, labor and human rights concerns
into
> account when they cut trade deals.
>
>This has been the longest gap in fast-track negotiating authority since the
>power was created in 1974. The previous authority expired in 1994, when
>Congress refused to renew it. _-
>
>Copyright 1998 by United Press International.
>
>All rights reserved. _-
>
>{UPI:Government-0925.03177} 09/25/98
>
>
>
>
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>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark Ritchie
President
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
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