Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 22, 1994 TAG: 9411230056
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jesse Helms, R-N.C. - who is about to become, strangely, the chairman of Senate Foreign Relations - wrote a letter to President Clinton urging delay on the newly revised General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade until the new Congress convenes in January. Helms threatened to disrupt administration foreign policies if a vote isn't put off.
The problem with waiting until next year is that the president's so-called "fast track" authority expires Dec. 31. This provision, traditionally applied to negotiation of complicated international agreements, requires an up-or-down congressional vote. To continue debate into 1995 would expose GATT to endless amendments from protectionists on both sides of the aisle. That might well spell doom for the titanic agreement, painfully negotiated over eight years and signed by 123 nations.
Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kan., who is about to become majority leader, has not joined the opposition to GATT, but neither is he supporting it. Over the weekend, he hinted his support may hinge on the administration's willingness to back a cut in the capital gains tax.
The problem with such linkage is that GATT is too important to be held hostage to other legislation or made a football in the scramble for partisan advantage. While the incoming congressional majority and much of the nation are riveted to such issues as balanced-budget amendments, term limits and the size of congressional staffs, the significance of these is in fact puny compared with GATT's.
The updated trade agreement is far from perfect, but it would cut tariffs and reduce trade barriers worldwide. That would give U.S. businesses access to new markets, U.S. consumers lower prices on goods, and the U.S. economy a considerable boost.
House Speaker-to-be Newt Gingrich, to his credit, supports approval of the accord. He may worry that a prolonged debate in the new Congress could distract from his ambitious "Contract With America" agenda. But he also understands that lowering trade barriers is good for America, that it will push the country toward a more vigorous export economy and the kind of high-skilled, higher-pay work force that global competitiveness demands.
The GOP, it should be noted, has been a champion of freer trade. This latest round of GATT talks began under the Reagan administration and continued under George Bush. Clinton won approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement last year only with the help of GOP votes, and by opposing unionists in his own party.
Some Republicans may hope to embarrass the president by blocking GATT, but they'd be embarrassing themselves - and hurting the country - far more. If GATT goes down, so will stock in America as a leader in liberalizing trade rules. If international support for the agreement collapses, protectionism would surge, commerce would contract, and the likelihood of trade wars would loom large.
This is precisely the kind of issue that ought to rise above partisan maneuvering, the kind of issue that tests political maturity. Congress should approve GATT on its merits, and for the good of the country.
by CNB