Tariffs And Trade

MARRAKESH, Morocco -- Culminating more than seven years of arduous and often bitter bargaining, ministers from 109 countries signed a far-reaching trade liberalization agreement yesterday aimed at stimulating exports and slashing tariffs around the world.The agreement is the eighth to be concluded since World War II but is easily the most ambitious, reducing import tariffs by an average of 40 percent and embracing for the first time such areas as agriculture, textiles and financial services.

WASHINGTON -- The United States' trade deficit with the rest of the world rose sharply in July to the second-highest level in history, the government said yesterday in a report that fanned inflation fears and rattled the financial markets.The worse-than-expected trade report came as Japanese auto companies, in a highly unusual move, warned the Clinton administration that they might break off their cooperation with the American auto industry, particularly their purchases of U.S. auto parts, if the White House imposes trade sanctions on Japan.

WASHINGTON -- A battle looms in Congress next year over the world trade agreement being completed in Geneva. It is not expected to be as emotional or hostile as this year's clash over the North American Free Trade Agreement. But lawmakers see signs of stiff opposition to the deal from a coalition of businesses, unions and environmental groups."This is going to be a difficult debate," said Rep. Nancy L. Johnson, a Connecticut Republican who just returned from Geneva, having monitored negotiations for the latest draft of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

For the Group of Seven summit, now in ritual assemblage in Tokyo, the question is what makes this year different from any other year. The temptation is to point to new names in the cast of characters -- Bill Clinton and Canada's Kim Campbell especially -- and the odd circumstance that the Japanese hosts are virtually nTC without a government. But what really is changed is the world economic situation.For the first time, there is a perceived danger that the multilateral trading system that has been the engine of world economic growth for the past 40 years is breaking down.

When President Bush goes to Houston for the Republican National Convention next month, he hopes to have in hand a new North American Free Trade Agreement embracing the 370 million people of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Trade ministers for the three nations are expected to reach the handshake stage tomorrow. Initialing at the presidential level could come soon thereafter.This would be a major foreign policy achievement for Mr. Bush, who along with Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari has made formation of the world's largest regional trading bloc a top priority.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration expressed confidence yesterday that it has enough Senate votes to ensure final passage tonight of a sweeping world trade agreement that would provide an important bipartisan victory for the White House.Administration officials said they had commitments from at least 57 of the 60 senators they need to prevail on a procedural vote that represents the last major hurdle before U.S. ratification of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The White House lobbied furiously last night to nail down the last few wavering votes.

WASHINGTON -- Conceived at the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este, haggled over for seven years in Geneva, and prodded during tense final hours in Brussels, Belgium, the most comprehensive world trade pact ever negotiated appears headed for completion this month.Racing to meet a congressionally mandated Dec. 15 deadline, negotiators have drawn their biggest guns -- heads of government, foreign and trade ministers -- into late bargaining over the politically sensitive issues.The pact, negotiated under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

BEIJING -- Sino-American goodwill flowed like the Chinese wine at a formal dinner last night opening the Ford Motor Co.'s first office here, an office that will lead a major thrust into China by the U.S. carmaker.But behind the good spirits and heady expectations of profits there was a dark specter: the possibility of a nasty, mutually unprofitable trade war between the U.S. and China.The trade war could begin as early as this weekend with the formal end of a yearlong U.S. trade investigation into Chinese market-access barriers -- raising disputes yet to be resolved by long-running trade talks.

Maryland officials, who have sought business with Kuwait, Japan, Eastern Europe and Canada, now are turning their attention south of the border. In his next trade mission, Gov. William Donald Schaefer plans to go to Mexico in the fall."

WASHINGTON -- Ralph Nader just can't understand it.He's trudged up to Capitol Hill to testify four times in the last month.He's telephoned Washington columnists to press his case and made the rounds on the talk-show circuit.He's tracked down senators and representatives and buttonholed their aides in the halls of Congress.And still, he is having a tough time getting his message across to the policy-shapers and decision-makers of this city.Frankly, it is starting to rub him."If the American public knew about this, it would be dead in the water.