162 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
162 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
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April 29, 1992
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PRESIDENT BUSH ON THE URUGUAY ROUND
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NEGOTIATIONS OF THE GATT
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"The Uruguay Round offers a vital opportunity to eliminate
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barriers to our goods, investment, services, and ideas."
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President George Bush
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May 1, 1991
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Summary
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o Under President Bush's leadership, the United States is
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spearheading efforts to complete the Uruguay Round of
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multilateral trade negotiations, the most ambitious round in
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the history of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
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(GATT). The 108 nation members of GATT represent over 90
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percent of world trade. The objective of the Uruguay Round
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negotiations is to strengthen and expand the global trading
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system by reducing trade barriers.
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o The Bush Administration's goals in the Round include sharply
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reducing trade barriers worldwide; extending GATT rules to
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services, investment, and intellectual property; and curbing
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trade subsidies that undercut American farm and industrial
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exports, while not reducing the effectiveness of U.S. laws
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against unfair trade.
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o President Bush is committed to obtaining a GATT agreement
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that will benefit American workers, farmers, and consumers;
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he will not accept an inadequate agreement just for the sake
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of an agreement.
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A Sound GATT Agreement Would Benefit the U.S. Economy
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o An open multilateral trading system is the best guarantee
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that U.S. export opportunities will continue to expand into
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the next century. The Uruguay Round is the most important
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initiative to expand these opportunities. A successful
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Uruguay Round would provide substantial benefits to the U.S.
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economy, including:
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-more-
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GATT -- page 2
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-- Lower tariff and non-tariff barriers to manufactured
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products and other goods, which would substantially
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boost U.S. exports and could increase U.S. output by
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over $1 trillion over the next ten years;
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-- Rules to protect the intellectual property of U.S.
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entrepreneurs to reduce the $60 billion lost each year
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through theft and counterfeiting;
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-- New markets for U.S. services firms, which export over
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$140 billion annually and generate 90 percent of new
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U.S. jobs;
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-- Fair competition and open markets in agriculture to
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create new opportunities for American farmers, who lead
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the world with more than $40 billion in annual exports;
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-- Full participation of developing countries in the
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global trading system, which could increase U.S.
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exports by $200 billion between now and the year 2000;
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and
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-- Effective rules on dispute settlement, anti-dumping,
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subsidies, and import safeguards, to expand U.S. access
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to foreign markets and ensure fair trade in the U.S.
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market.
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Agriculture
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o One of President Bush's key objectives is to obtain a GATT
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agreement that contains major agricultural policy reforms,
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including commitments by GATT member nations to reduce trade-
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distorting internal support to farmers, open markets to
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imports, and cut export subsidies.
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o Agricultural reforms in the Uruguay Round would mark an
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historic departure from the costly protectionist measures
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that have flourished in that sector, largely outside GATT
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disciplines. These reforms would have significant benefits
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for farmers, taxpayers, and consumers in the United States
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and the rest of the world.
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o These reforms have been opposed by the European Community,
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which refuses to reduce subsidies that give EC farmers an
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unfair advantage in the world market. President Bush,
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supported by other GATT members, has demanded that any final
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GATT agreement include a commitment by all parties including
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the EC to drastically reduce these subsidies and to require
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their farmers to compete in the world market.
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-more-
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GATT -- page 3
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Services
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o President Bush has insisted that global trade rules for
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services be established to expand access to global markets
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for U.S. services providers. President Bush is confident
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that U.S. services, such as banking, insurance,
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telecommunications, motion pictures, tourism, and
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construction, can out-compete their foreign counterparts if
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only they are allowed to compete on a level playing field.
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-- The United States already leads the world with $140
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billion in services exports annually.
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Intellectual PropertyIntellectual Property Rules
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o Patented, copyrighted, and trademarked products are a
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growing source of foreign earnings to the U.S. economy.
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President Bush has pressed for a GATT agreement that will
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afford the highest level of protection to copyrights,
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patents, and other forms of intellectual property held by
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U.S. firms. The President also has insisted that the
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agreement must include strong sanctions for those countries
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that condone the piracy, infringement or violation of these
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rights.
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o The President's efforts to protect American know-how have
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already paid off. For example, in the most recent draft of
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the proposed agreement, computer software would be protected
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as literary work, the highest form of copyright protection
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allowed.
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Textile and Apparel
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Textile and Apparel
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o The current draft GATT agreement calls for removal of the
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quota system established by the 1974 Multi-Fiber Arrangement
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(MFA). One of President Bush's main objectives in the GATT
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negotiations has been to ensure that any such quota removal
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be conducted on a smooth and gradual basis in order to
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minimize the disruption to the U.S. textile and apparel
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industry.
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o The President's call for a sensible, responsible phaseout of
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the quotas has prevailed. The proposed draft agreement
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calls for a gradual phaseout of the MFA, which will allow
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the U.S. textile industry time to adjust to import
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competition and avoid severe disruption, appropriate
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safeguard procedures, improved procedures to deal with
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circumvention of quotas and important market-opening
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measures for U.S. textile and apparel exporters.
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# # #
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