Angry, bitter infighting marks fast-track debate

[MDOLAN <mdolan@citizen.org>]

   ... and happy celebration marks Citizens Trade Campaign self-congratulatory 
  back slapping ...
  
  [It's not over yet. Fair Trade activists should (1) organize 'coming out' 
  parties for members of congress who have declared their opposition to NAFTA 
  expansion and Fast Track and (2) continue to pressure undecided members.  
  Both of these grassroots tasks could be accomplished during the imminent 
  congressional recess, next week. - ed.]
  
  ******************************************************
  10/9/97
  Angry, bitter infighting marks fast-track debate
  
  Both parties have trouble rallying troops on trade negotiating authority
  
                                BY WILLIAM ROBERTS
                                JOURNAL OF COMMERCE STAFF
  
  WASHINGTON -- Washington's bitter debate on "fast-track" trade authority has 
  offered a glimpse into the searing crosscurrents on trade at work in this 
  Congress.
  
  Indeed, the politics surrounding fast-track legislation are more complex 
  than in previous trade fights, with both political parties divided on the 
  question of expanding America's reach overseas.
  
  Some lawmakers are already feeling pressure to back away from trade 
  liberalization because of the next round of congressional
  elections, now little more than a year way. The rivalry between Vice 
  President Al Gore and House Minority Leader ichard Gephardt, D-Mo., for the 
  Democratic presidential nod in 2000 further polarizes the issue.
  
  "That causes problems for the White House," said Rep. Bill Archer, R-Texas, 
  chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who 24 hours before a 
  crucial committee vote scheduled for Wednesday admitted he had "no idea how 
  many Democrats we will get" to support fast track.
  
  Congressional Republicans, despite holding a pro-business majority in the 
  House, can't muster enough votes on their own to pass fast track. And the 
  White House has had major problems gaining commitments from any more than 14 
  "New Democrats"
  -- basically moderates -- to back the bill.
  
  "There are some other issues that have entered this time that have not been 
  in the fast-track debate in the past," Mr. Archer said.
  
  Many Republicans are reluctant to give Mr. Clinton fast-track trade 
  negotiating authority, which allows U.S. officials to negotiate trade deals 
  that would then be considered by Congress without amendment. Many in the 
  GOP, Mr. Archer said, don't trust the president.
  
  "There is further concern on our side," Mr. Archer said, about the World 
  Trade Organization and its ability to overrule U.S. protections of domestic 
  industries. It's a concern that Mr. Archer said he believes is unjustified, 
  but one that is nevertheless preventing many Republicans from voting for 
  fast track.
  
  Mr. Archer also said the nation's mixed record with the North American Free 
  Trade Agreement has introduced "a lot of emotion" into the fast-track 
  debate, which in no small part is about expanding the trade agreement with 
  Canada and Mexico to include Chile.
  
  ******Rep. English may shift gears
  
  One member of the Ways and Means Committee who in the past backed trade 
  liberalization but is now wavering is Rep. Phil English, a Republican who 
  represents an industrial blue-collar district in Erie, Pa.
  
  Mr. English said Tuesday in an interview that he opposes Mr. Archer's bill 
  because it delegates too much control to the White House and stops short of 
  protecting U.S. anti-dumping laws from being bargained away at the 
  negotiating table.
  
  "I think Congress should have some input on the front end on at least what 
  negotiations we should be having," said Mr. English, who was among several 
  junior Republicans on Ways and Means who were leaning against Mr. Archer.
  
  "I'm in favor of trade," he said, "but fair and open trade. One of the 
  things I would like to see is that we should specify in the law that it 
  (fast track) not be used to water down the dumping provisions."
  
  Other Ways and Means Republicans believed to be opposed to fast track 
  include Gerald C. Weller of Illinois; Jon Christensen of Nebraska; and John 
  Ensign of Nevada.
  
  ******Democrats defect as well
  
  There have been defections from the free-trade block by Democrats on the 
  committee, too. Rep. Barbara Kennelly, D-Conn., who is running for governor 
  in Connecticut, is opposing fast-track renewal despite past positions in 
  favor of expanding trade.
  
  Clearly many House Democrats are following the lead of Mr. Gephardt, who has 
  seized on trade to set himself apart from Vice President Gore, whose 
  nomination to lead the party in 2000 has been placed in jeopardy by 
  fund-raising scandals.
  
  ******Question not 'whether,' but 'how'
  
  Mr. Gephardt made his opposition to unconditional fast-track approval the 
  central theme of a speech to Democratic party activists two weeks ago. "The 
  question is not whether to trade, but how to trade," Mr. Gephardt said. 
  "Labor and environmental laws should be enforced in the country that we're 
  engaged with in free-trade marriages."
  
  Part of the problem too, Republicans say, is the White House has failed to 
  adequately push for fast-track approval.
  
  Fast-track opponents took yet another tack Wednesday to try to block the 
  legislation.
  
  Three Senate Democrats -- Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Robert Byrd of West 
  Virginia and Paul Sarbanes of Maryland -- and 10 House members, led by Rep. 
  Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced legislation creating an independent 
  commission to study the causes of the U.S. trade deficit and recommend ways 
  to overcome them.
  
  New negotiating authority for the president would be withheld pending the 
  commission's recommendations.
  
  "We'll use every available, conceivable parliamentary procedure" to get the 
  proposal through Congress and stop fast track, Mr. Dorgan vowed.
  
                                Richard Lawrence contributed to this story.
  ===== Comments by MDOLAN@CITIZEN (MDOLAN) at 10/09/97 10:12 am
  Don't party,
  Organize!
  
  
  
  ****************************************************************************
   /s/ Mike Dolan, Field Director, Global Trade Watch, Public Citizen
  
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