TRADE• Free Trade Agreements Within the next few months, negotiators are also likely to lay the groundwork for bilateral negotiations with Morocco and the five-nation Central American Common Market (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Formal talks may begin by December. President Bush has officially informed the Congress of the Administration's intention to pursue and continue negotiations with all of these countries. This is a standard and formal step used during trade agreement development and procedures. Together, all of these agreements involve only about 4% of US exports worldwide. However, the bigger benefit is their indirect effect of influencing other Western Hemisphere countries to open their markets. Another major trade partner, Taiwan, also is pushing for a pact. Calls for an agreement are expected to heighten in October when the US International Trade Commission releases a study of the likely impact of a US-Taiwan free trade accord • Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Deputy US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier recently discussed the progress of the FTAA and the meeting of government officials held in Santo Domingo. Five developments occurred that indicates the negotiations are moving forward. Number one is an agreement among the nations with respect to the market access negotiations. The market access provisions of the FTAA will determine the schedules by which countries eliminate their tariffs, make specific commitments in services and investment, and in other market barriers, such as quotas. Allgeier explained that there is agreement among the countries that there will be basically four phases for eliminating tariffs. Some tariffs will be eliminated immediately; some in a period of up to five years; and some in a period of eight to 10 years. Very sensitive tariffs could take even longer. How much of any given country's trade is in the first, second or third phase will be determined during the negotiations. Second, each negotiating group has completed their agreement texts in their respective areas that will go to the ministers for discussion during the ministerial meetings December 1st in Quito, Ecuador. Third, progress was made on the development of a hemispheric cooperation program that will provide assistance to smaller economies and those at lower levels of development. Fourth, there was agreement on the procedures and budget for moving the administration secretariat to Puebla, Mexico as was agreed in 1998. Finally, the US and Brazil moved forward in preparing for their joint chairmanship of the FTAA process, starting November 2, right after the ministerial. • Byrd Goes Down A three-person WTO tribunal ruled that the "Byrd Amendment," that gives American companies harmed by illegal trading practices some of the duties received from foreign competitors, violated nine provisions of global trade agreements. It further urged the US to repeal the law outright, rather than attempt to amend it. This law allowed companies to collect more than $200 million in 2001 and another payout is expected in November. Critics of the provision say it effectively provides US companies with both a subsidy and a reason to file frivolous trade complaints. The Bush Administration has vowed to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile the Europeans have released a tentative list of products upon which it is prepared to slap retaliatory penalty duties, including steel, as early as October. ENVIRONMENTAL & REGULATORY AFFAIRS• Lead TRI Reporting The transcript, reflecting detailed scientific and technical presentations made at the workshop, reveals the flaws in EPA's scientific justification for the TRI lead rule. The letter was a summary of a meeting between EPA officials during the period of the intransigency review during which industry representatives raised concerns about the human health data relied upon by EPA in formulating the TRI lead rule. Parties to the case now have 60 days to submit a brief and file for a summary judgment in the case. LEGISLATION• HR 2770, Transparency and Fairness Trade Act During the Government Affairs Conference, one of the goals of AWPA's Capitol Hill meetings was to urge and convince legislators to co-sponsor this important trade bill. This legislation has two primary provisions that would greatly assist wire companies achieve a more level playing field in trade issues. The provisions are: � The bill would bring consuming industries into the trade debate by making purchasers full parties to trade cases. At present, only US producers, labor unions, US importers, and foreign producers may be full parties to trade remedy cases conducted by the International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce. Trade remedy cases do not adequately consider the interests of, or the consequences to, consuming industries (purchasers) and therefore may, on balance, harm the US economy. It is merely an issue of fairness and equal representation for consumers, who have a vested interest in the outcome of trade cases, to be able to have all the rights within the process as other parties in the investigation. � The bill would give specific authorization for the Department of Commerce to exempt imports temporarily from antidumping and countervailing duty orders if the products under order are not made in the United States or are in short supply. Under current law, products in AD or CVD cases which are not made in the US or are only available in limited quantities can only be exempted at the beginning of an injury investigation and then only with the consent of the petitioner(s) who are seeking protection. After an order is in place, there is no effective means to exempt a discreet product covered by an AD or CVD order, and orders are in place for a minimum of 5 years. Market conditions often change; mills go out of business, change product lines, have temporary outages, or merely cannot meet the changing demand of their customers (purchasers). Purchasers should not have to pay duty on imports of a product that cannot or will not be made by the domestic industry. Petitioners cannot be harmed or injured by imports of a product they don't produce. The discretion to temporarily exempt duties should lie with Commerce and they should have the authority to reinstate duties at any time based on changing market conditions. As a result of the AWPA meetings, three more co-sponsors were added, proving that grassroots efforts do pay off! To date, the bill has seventeen co-sponsors. NAM Reviewing Steel 201The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) trade and technology policy group, after a review of the issue, has approved a resolution urging the group's international economic policy committee to "develop a policy position on steel trade that is appropriate for all constituencies." The text of the resolution is as follows: "Whereas a stable domestic steel industry is in the national interest, whereas there are overriding considerations of general importance to American industry in having a well functioning steel market and whereas the recently imposed steel tariffs have had a negative impact on steel users, we therefore resolve that the NAM International Economic Policy Committee should be convened to develop a policy position on steel trade that is appropriate for all constituencies." It is anticipated that by March the Committee will recommend whether the NAM should take a stand on the tariffs. If the organization's leaders decide to take a stand, it would be one of the few times that the group has done so in a controversial trade issue. 201 Steel UpdateExclusions Finishing up the first round of exclusion requests associated with the Section 201 steel remedy program, the US rescinded tariffs on about 25% of steel imports subject to the program. The total number of product exclusions granted was 727 out of more than 1,300 requests. Based on 2001 import volume, it is estimated that 3.2 million tons, out of roughly 13 million tons otherwise subject to the duties, have been excluded. The overwhelming majority of exclusions granted were for steel imports from the European Union and Japan, which have each threatened retaliatory tariffs unless they received adequate exemptions. In return, the European Union dropped its threat of rapid retaliatory duties on over $300 million worth of US exports until the WTO's ruling is issued on the legality of the safeguard program. The vote is expected next year. Tokyo also put plans to retaliate on hold after they were granted some exemptions. Ironically, about half of the safeguard tariff exemptions were for US steel companies that import slab or flat-rolled steel to process into other products. Over Capacity Negotiations On another front, the Bush Administration called for the worldwide elimination of most government subsidies to steel makers as part of a comprehensive effort to cut global overcapacity that has plagued the industry for decades. The government announced the proposal at a meeting of 39 steel producing countries being held in Paris under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The US proposal would seek the elimination of substantially all government subsidies with the possible exception of government support to help retrain laid off steel workers of closed, outdated steel plants. The US plan would also address such issues as eliminating various trade barriers that countries use to keep steel out of their markets. The idea is to delete about 200 million tons in global capacity to make the industry leaner and less in need of protection, worldwide. In addition to ending trade barriers for steel, countries would be given incentives to phase out noncompetitive plants. In addition, international lending organizations like the World Bank would be discouraged from making loans for new steel plants. "Workplace Partnership for Life" ProgramThe National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has joined with Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in promoting a valuable organ donation program called "Workplace Partnership for Life." Many Americans have pledged to have one or more of their organs available at the time of death. Unfortunately, there are over 80,000 people waiting for life saving organs. A single donor can save or enhance the lives of fifty people. Through this program, businesses can build public awareness of the need for organ donations. The workplace is a great environment in which to create awareness of the need for organ donations. With employers and employees working together, thousands of lives can be saved. Some ideas for companies: � add a pro-donation message to employee pay stubs each month � distribute donor cards and educational materials about donation to employees � sponsor a presentation on donation � include articles on donation in the company newsletter � implement a leave policy for employees who donate marrow or an organ � sponsor a blood drive, marrow drive, or organ/tissue donor card signing event For more information, visit www.organdonor.gov
 American Wire Producers Association |
