SUNS  4358 Friday 22 January 1998

Trade: Clinton for new round, freer and fairer trading system



Geneva, 20 Jan (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- US President Bill Clinton has asked Congress to work for a "freer and fairer" trading system for 21st century America, give for "fast track authority" for the President to negotiate new trade accords, and called for a new round of trade negotiations at the WTO to expand exports of services, manufactures and farm products.

Third world trade diplomats at Geneva said they wanted to study the speech, broadcast on TV around the world, carefully before making an assessment. But their initial impression was it could prove to be demands for "freer" markets abroad for US exports, and a "fairer" system to enable the US to restrict imports on selective protective grounds - anti-dumping, subsidised exports by others, and other hidden conditions.

In his references to international finance and trade, Clinton said in his state of the Union of Message to the joint sessions of the Congress (where the Senate, for the joint session, interrupted his trial for perjury and obstruction of justice over the Lewinsky affair):

"For our own prosperity, we must support economic growth, abroad... until recently, a third of our economic growth came from exports. But over the past year and a half, financial turmoil overseas has put that growth at risk. Today, much of the world is in recession, with Asia hit especially hard. This is the most serious financial crisis in half a century. To meet it, the US and other nations have reduced interest rates and strengthened the IMF. And while the turmoil is not over, we have worked very hard with other nations to contain it.

"At the same time, we have to continue to work on the long-term project, building a global financial system for the 21st century that promotes prosperity and tames the cycle of boom and bust that has
engulfed so much of Asia. This June, I will meet with other world leaders to advance this historic purpose. And I ask all of you to support out endeavours.

"I also ask you to support creating a freer and fairer (emphasis added) trading system for the 21st century America.

"I'd like to say something really serious to everyone in this chamber in both parties. I think trade has divided us, and divided Americans outside this chamber, for too long. Somehow we have to find a common ground on which business and environmentalists and farmers and government can stand together. I believe these are the things we ought to all agree on. So let me try.

First, we ought to tear down barriers, open markets and expand trade. But at the same time, we must ensure that ordinary citizens in all countries actually benefit from trade - a trade that promotes the dignity of work, and the rights of workers, and protects the environment. We must insist that international trade organizations be more open to public scrutiny, instead of mysterious, secret things subject to wild criticism.

When you come right down to it, now that the world economy is becoming more and more integrated, we have to do in the world what we spent the better part of this century doing here at home. We have got to put a human face on the global economy.

We must enforce our trade laws when imports unlawfully flood our nation. I have already informed the government of Japan that if that nation's sudden surge of steel imports into our country is not
reversed, America will respond.

We must help all manufacturers hit hard by the present crisis with loan guarantees and other incentives to increase American exports by nearly $2 billion. I'd like to believe we can achieve a new consensus on trade, based on these principles. And I ask the Congress to join me in this common approach and to give the President the trade authority long used - and now overdue and necessary - to advance our prosperity in the 21st century.

Today I issue a call to the nations of the world to join the United States in a new round of global trade negotiations to expand exports of services, manufactures and far products. Tonight I say we will work with the International Labour Organization on a new initiative to raise labour standards around the world. And this year, we will lead the international community to conclude a treaty to ban abusive child labour everywhere in the world.If we do these things - invest in our people, our communities, our technology, and lead in the global economy-then we will begin to meet our historic responsibility to build 21st century prosperity for America."