National Journal's CongressDaily / February 16, 2001 / by Keith Koffler
Drawing a line in the sand on an issue that has vexed them for years, several top business officials said in interviews this week that they will not agree to make sanctions enforcing labor and environmental standards part of trade deals or legislation granting the president fast track trade negotiating authority.
While some business leaders said it is a political reality that labor and environmental issues must be addressed in the context of trade, most are currently unwilling to provide the "teeth" of sanctions that environmentalists and union leaders demand. And sources indicated that much groundwork is needed to build more of a consensus on trade in Congress - and with President Bush focused on passing his tax cut, a vote on fast track probably will not be held until the fall. Given that, Bush is unlikely to be able to tout the prospect of gaining fast track when he attends the April Summit of the Americas in Quebec, as many pro-free traders had hoped.
Alarmed at aggressive efforts by European and Asian rivals to forge trade deals with less industrialized nations, U.S. business leaders are concerned that adding sanctions to the mix will cause potential U.S. partners to walk away from agreements. And they fear that once the door is open, demands will ratchet up for fines, tariffs and quotas. "We just cannot see having sanctions in trade agreements," said Frank Vargo, who works the trade issue for the National Association of Manufacturers. Other top officials concurred. "I think that everybody agrees that there will not be sanctions," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Congressional Affairs William Morley. Emergency Committee for American Trade President Calman Cohen said his group, which represents many U.S. trading giants, also opposes sanctions. One business lobbyist said the move makes no political sense. "Most of the Democrats making demand on labor and environment have never voted for a trade bill and never will," he said.
But Vargo said he was open to "dialogue" on linking labor and environment to trade. And Cohen suggested that labor and environmental issues could be written into trade agreements without the hammer of sanctions. Although he argued the issues were best left to separate forums such as the International Labor Organization, Cohen said specific trade deals could include calls for changes in a country's laws that promote anti-environmental policies or offers of technical assistance from the United States to help its partner's environment. And a spokesman for the Business Roundtable declined to specify whether the group would continue to oppose sanctions - as it has in the past - indicating that the BRT supports "flexibility" in negotiations and rejects a "one size fits all approach." The spokesman added that trade sanctions are "not the most appropriate or effective means" for dealing with this issue. Several CEOs who comprise the BRT have backed a controversial trade deal with Jordan, under which Jordan could face sanctions for not enforcing its labor laws. Morley said the Chamber was not discussing ways to add labor and the environmental issues to trade deals.:
