FWD: FAST TRACK PUBLIC FORUM THIS SAT.!

[MDOLAN <mdolan@citizen.org>]

  Public Forum with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
  FAST TRACK: Globalization at a Crossroad
  
  Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has called for public debate on President
  Clinton's controversial Fast Track proposal.  Under Fast Track rules,
  Congress agrees to limit discussion on future trade and investment
  agreements negotiated by the President, with no amendments and voting only
  yes or no.
  
  Hear from both sides of the Fast Track debate.  Express your views to
  Congresswoman Pelosi on this very important issue.
  
  WHEN:   This Saturday, October 4, 2:00 PM
  WHERE:The Commonwealth Club,  595 Market Street (@ 2nd) in San Francisco
  
  SPEAKERS: UC Berkerey Professor Harley Shaiken specializing in labor and
  the global economy; Kevin Danaher, Director, Global Exchange; Geza
  Fekaetekuty, Head of Montery Institute, Center for International Trade and
  Commercial Diplomacy and James Stroch, recently Secretary of California 
  Environmental Protection Agency
  
  Call Juliette Beck at the  California Fair Trade Campaign for more
  information at (510) 654-4400; fax (510) 654-4551.
  
  
  
  
  ****************************************************************************
  ***
  ACTION ALERT:  Put the Breaks on Globalization:  Stop Fast Track
  
  Now that Clinton's Fast Track proposal has been introduced, it is time to
  follow up with your Congressperson (call 1-800-765-4440) to let them just
  how bad it is and why it should be rejected.
  
  Under Clinton's proposal, the President is authorized to negotiate trade
  deals according to a list of "trade negotiating objectives" laid out in the
  legislation.  This proposal strengthens business rights while eleminating
  the possibilty for including enforceable labor and environmental
  protections in future trade and investment agreements for the next 8 years.
  The language in the bill is its worst damnation.  Here's why:
  
  TOP Reasons to Reject President Clinton's Fast Track Proposal
  
  1.  PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FAST TRACK PROPOSAL IS A SETBACK FOR WORKERS, THE
  ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS AND PUBLIC SAFETY
  Under this Fast Track, the President is affirmatiely prohibited from
  placing enforceable labor and environmental provisions in the core texts of
  future trade pacts.  Clinton's proposal uses Republican Rep. Archer's
  language to limit fast track coverage to environmental, labor, and other
  matters  "directly related to trade." Fighting unsafe work places and child
  labor, or charging failed environmenal enforcement killed birds in a lake
  in central Mexico is clearly not "DIRECTLY RELATED" to trade.  Under this
  "directly related to trade" language, even NAFTA's side agreements would be
  excluded.  Furthermmore, the President IS directed to negotiate for the
  elemination of existing labor or green rules that may "decrease market
  opportunities" for U.S. exports in other countries.
  
  2.      ENVIRONMENTAL AND LABOR CONCERNS RELEGATED TO THE WORLD TRADE
  ORGANIZATION (WTO)
  Sending these issues to the WTO is equivalent to sending them directly to
  Hell.  The WTO has an "environmental" working group whose osentsible
  mission is to remove environmental laws that limit trade.  Better yet, the
  WTO, in a Ministial Declaration issued last March, refused to deal with
  labor issues and declared that the International Labor Organization (ILO)
  is the appropriate forum for such discussions.  Yet the ILO lacks the
  levreage and enforcement mechanisms for effectively dealing with labor
  disputes.
  
  3.  AUTOMATIC FAST TRACK FOR NAFTA EXPANSION TO CHILE, GATT-WTO AND THE
  MULTILATERAL AGEEMENT ON INVESTMENT (MAI)
  Thanks to a '"grandfather" clause, the President could immediately begin
  negotiating, under Fast Track terms, NAFTA expansion with Chile and the
  "built in" agenda of the GATT Uruguay Round, which includes investment (the
  MAI), agriculture, intellectual property, and services.  In past Fast
  Tracks, Congress has had 60 days to disapprove a President's request to
  apply Fast Track congressional procedurers to a particular negotations.
  This so-called "emergency break" is eleminated.
  
  4.      NOTHING ON CURRENCY STABILITY, ILLEGAL DRUGS, OR FOOD SAFETY
  In fact, negotiating objectives on coordinating monetary and trade policy
  and on eleminating unfair trade practices are eleminated in this proposal.
  Given the 1995 Mexican peso crash and the recent currency collapse in
  Southeast Asia, it is ill advised to eliminate trade negotiating objectives
  in this area.
  
  5.      BOOSTS ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
  In the same legislation that withdraws the President's ability to negotiate
  enforceable labor and environmental provisions, protections for
  intellectual property are expanded through criminal enforcement mechanisms.
  Violations of intellectual property rights punished by criminal, civil and
  trade remedies, while labor rights cannot be negotiated, much less
  enforcecd.
  
  
  **********************
  * FIAN-USA
  * 398 60th St.
  * Oakland, CA 94618
  * 510-654-4400
  * FAX  510-654-4551
  * fianusa@igc.apc.org
  ===== Comments by MDOLAN@CITIZEN (MDOLAN) at 10/02/97 7:44 am