Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411300083
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Q: What is GATT?
A: GATT stands for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It is the name of both a trade agreement and the organization set up in 1947 to oversee its implementation. Countries that agree to honor its commitments to lower their trade barriers become what is known as ``contracting parties'' to the GATT. There are 124 member countries, including the United States.
Q: What is the Uruguay Round?
A: It is the eighth and by far the most ambitious round of trade negotiations aimed at lowering tariffs still further and extending the GATT rules to several new areas. The talks began in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1986 and were supposed to end in December 1990. However, they were not completed until December 1993 in Geneva.
Q: What got accom- plished?
A: Quite a bit. The GATT accord that Congress is taking up this week cuts tariffs on average by 38 percent worldwide. It extends the GATT rules to new areas such as agriculture, services and the protection of copyrights and patents. It also creates a new World Trade Organization with more power to mediate trade disputes between nations.
Q: Isn't the WTO one of the principal targets of opponents?
A: Yes. Critics such as Ralph Nader and Ross Perot are warning that the WTO represents a dangerous encroachment on U.S. sovereignty.
Q: If the United States has belonged to the GATT since 1947, why are opponents worried about the WTO?
A: GATT basically was a toothless tiger when it came to enforcing trade rules. It could appoint hearing panels to rule on disputes between nations; but if a country lost a decision before GATT, the loser could simply ignore the ruling by exercising its veto power. The WTO will eliminate this one-country veto power. A losing country will either have to eliminate its unfair trade barrier or pay compensation to the country bringing the complaint.
Q: What's wrong with that?
A: Nothing, say the administration and free-trade supporters. But opponents fear that foreign countries will launch a wholesale assault on American laws protecting consumers, workers and the environment as unfair barriers to trade. Mexico in 1991 won a GATT case against the U.S. law that bans imports of tuna caught in nets that also harm dolphins. Nothing came of the ruling because of the one-country veto.
Q: The WTO doesn't sound as if it has much of benefit for the average American.
A: Supporters disagree. They claim that the removal of barriers will greatly expand U.S. exports both in manufacturing and in services and this will lead to creation of hundreds of thousands of new U.S. jobs and boost economic growth by perhaps $150 billion annually at the end of 10 years when the new agreement is fully phased in.
Q: What do opponents say?
A: They contend that the administration's benefit claims are grossly inflated. They say American workers, especially in such highly protected industries as textiles and apparel manufacturing, will lose thousands of jobs to low-wage competition from abroad.
by CNB