[PEN-L:9621] Re: Re: NAFTA case; Clinton Pursues Fast Track Authority Again

[Robert Naiman <naimanr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fast track this year is extremely unlikely.

The AFL and the Dem (House) leadership have drawn a line in the sand on this. So have the free-trade Rs. The free-trade Rs won't even give anything fake that the libs could claim they won. Big business is not that invested. As we always said, they don't really need it -- you don't see them rolling up the carpet in Seattle.

Sadly, the Dems and the AFL have not drawn a line on the underlying issues. So while Gephardt and the AFL have a hard line on fast track, they continue to be soft on and even support bad trade bills. e.g. Gephardt voted for and even whipped for the Admin African Growth and Opportunity Act ['NAFTA for Africa']. The AFL was opposed but not vigorously; it refused to endorse the alternative HOPE for Africa Act promoted by the lefty NGOs and UNITE. Now the Gepper has signaled his willingness to cave on China/WTO. Regardless of what one thinks about the specific dynamics around China WTO accession, if China is allowed into the WTO without concessions on labor rights as part of the agreement, it's a total burying of organized labor's "strategy" on the WTO [include labor and the environment.] There is no way there will ever be any meaningful labor stuff in the WTO if China comes in without it.

[I'm not saying I support the AFL strategy of making the WTO incorporate labor stuff, which I don't, only that it's the moment of truth for that strategy.]

-bob

07:47 PM 7/22/99 -0700, michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>Michael's information seems very important.  Would other people like to
>comment, especially on the speculation that the liberal democrats will
>accept the fast track.
>
>In a wierd way, it could help the liberals in the limited objective, by
>firing up the red meat repugs, thus making the Shrub's trip to D.C. less
>smooth.  Would such a limited objective be enough to let them sell out?
> --
>Michael Perelman
>Economics Department
>California State University
>Chico, CA 95929
>
>Tel. 530-898-5321
>E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>

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Robert Naiman <naimanr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Preamble Center
1737 21st NW
Washington, DC 20009
phone: 202-265-3263
fax:   202-265-3647
http://www.preamble.org/
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