[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 140 (Friday, September 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                  GATT

  Mr. DANFORTH. Mr. President, I will vote in favor of the Uruguay 
round implementing legislation when it comes before the full Senate 
later this year.
  The Uruguay round GATT agreement is a historic achievement. It was 
negotiated by three Presidents. It is the world's largest tax cut. It 
will cut worldwide tariffs on U.S. exports by almost 40 percent. The 
reduction in these trade barriers will create hundreds of thousands of 
high-paying jobs for American workers.
  Equally important, the new agreement expands the rules of the GATT to 
cover important areas of international trade previously outside the 
GATT. The agreement establishes international trading rules to protect 
U.S. intellectual property rights and to govern trade in services--two 
areas where the United States has a clear competitive advantage. It 
also phases out quotas on textiles and apparel goods over 10 years. And 
the agreement for the first time sets limits on agricultural subsidies. 
European agricultural export subsidies that have injured U.S. farmers 
will be cut by 21 percent over 6 years.
  Furthermore, the Uruguay round establishes a new dispute settlement 
procedure to ensure that we can enforce our rights as a nation under 
the GATT. Under current GATT rules, a country that loses a dispute can 
block the GATT from enforcing the rules against it. The European Union 
has used this loophole against the United States in numerous cases 
where we had won cases at the GATT. Under the new World Trade 
Organization, other countries will no longer be able to block GATT 
cases against them. This will permit us to enforce the rules of the 
GATT to open foreign markets to our exports.
  Finally, it should be noted that several concerns that I and other 
Republican Senators had expressed regarding the implementing 
legislation for the GATT have been successfully resolved during the 
drafting of that legislation in the Finance Committee.
  As my colleagues know, I had serious objections to the new subsidies 
rules negotiated by the Clinton administration. These rules permit 
certain green light subsidies to be granted by governments without the 
possibility of imposing countervailing duties to offset the injurious 
effects of those subsidies. These green light rules would put the 
United States on the horns of a dilemma, forcing us to choose between 
subsidizing our own industries, or allowing them to lose out to 
subsidized foreign competition. To address this problem, several 
provisions were added to the implementing bill to define narrowly what 
constitutes a green-lighted subsidy, to sunset the green light 
categories at the end of 5 years, and to provide a new trade remedy for 
U.S. industries injured by foreign green-lighted subsidies.
  There was also substantial Republican opposition to the 
administration's request for a grant of fast track authority linking 
trade policy to labor and environmental issues. I oppose any linkage 
between trade and labor and environmental policies because it would 
subordinate trade policy to these other objectives, and would lead to 
the closing of the U.S. market rather than the opening of foreign 
markets to U.S. exports. In the face of these concerns, the 
administration agreed to drop its request for an extension of fast 
track authority from the Uruguay round implementing bill. Instead, the 
Senate will consider separate legislation to renew fast track authority 
next year. The resolution of this issue earlier this month cleared the 
way for consideration of the implementing bill this year.
  Mr. President, given the clear benefits of the Uruguay round to the 
United States, I urge all my colleagues to support quick passage of the 
implementing legislation before we adjourn next week. The sooner we can 
pass this historic trade agreement, the better off we will be as a 
country.

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