 |
Clinton says he will support trade sanctions for worker abuse
Wednesday, December 1, 1999
By MICHAEL PAULSON
Hours before he was to arrive in a Seattle engulfed by angry protesters, President Clinton endorsed a major goal of labor unionists who have fueled many of the demonstrations against the World Trade Organization.
In an exclusive interview yesterday with the Post-Intelligencer, Clinton for the first time embraced the concept of eventually imposing sanctions against countries that violate international labor standards and said Americans shouldn't buy products from companies that exploit workers.
Also see our WTO photo galleries.
Clinton also said he deplored the conduct of violent protesters in Seattle, but said he believes the majority of the demonstrators are making a valuable contribution to the WTO meeting.
The president's support of labor-related sanctions goes beyond positions previously articulated by top officials of his administration. Such sanctions are opposed by the European Union and by the National Association of Manufacturers in the United States.
U.S. labor leaders, told of Clinton's comments, welcomed his remarks.
"We have never had this kind of reaction from any government agency before, especially the White House," said Thomas Buffenbarger, the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the largest Boeing union. "It's movement forward."
And Ron Judd, executive secretary of the King County Labor Council, said "What he has basically laid out there is all the steps necessary to accomplish what we need to have happen. That's much more complete than he has articulated before."
Clinton made his comments in a phone interview from San Francisco, where he attended a fund-raiser for congressional candidates. He then moved on to Los Angeles, and was scheduled to arrive in Seattle early this morning.
Today, Clinton is to deliver a speech at the Port of Seattle about the importance of agricultural trade, and speak to a luncheon of world trade ministers. Tomorrow the president is to sign an International Labor Organization convention before leaving for Philadelphia.
The interview was conducted as Gov. Gary Locke and Mayor Paul Schell were announcing that they had called out the National Guard and imposed a curfew in an effort to control sometimes violent protests during which police fired tear gas and rubber pellets.
"A small number of people have done non-peaceful things and have tried to block access and prevent meetings" Clinton said. "That's wrong. It's not only illegal, it's just wrong."
But Clinton took pains to emphasize his sympathy and support for the causes espoused by many of the WTO's critics. He called the presence of protesters in Seattle "healthy," and he has agreed to hold private meetings with critics this afternoon.
"I regret very much that a few people have given the protesters a bad name, because I think the fact that the protesters are there, were it not for those stopping meetings, stopping movements and not being peaceful, would be a positive," he said.
Clinton attributed the massive protests to three concerns -- that the WTO is unaccountable, that its rulings are not always honored, and whether trade rules benefit the environment, workers and poor countries.
He rejected any suggestion that the talks should be canceled because of unrest in Seattle, and said that he would consider the week a success if negotiators agree to start a new round of talks aimed at liberalizing global trade.
But Clinton also said the WTO must open itself to critics.
"If they don't want people like the protesters outside of every trade meeting until the end of time, they're going to have to open the process so that the voices of labor, the environment and the developing countries can be heard, and so that the decisions are transparent, the records are open, and the consequences are clear," he said.
While in Seattle, Clinton is expected to emphasize the message that Americans benefit from that trade, and he made that point again during the interview.
"On balance, the world is much better off because we've expanded trade over the last 50 years," he said. "I bet you a lot of the protesters came to the protests wearing shoes that were made in other countries and using cellular phones and maybe a lot of them drove cars that were foreign-manufactured. We live in a global economy that on balance has been quite good for the United States, but also good for developing countries, but we've got to make a better case down deeper into society."
Clinton endorsed not only the cause of worker rights, but also environmental values, which he said can be honored within the context of global trade rules:
"The answer . . . is to make sure that these environmental standards are properly integrated into the WTO deliberation and that we agree that countries ought to have more leeway on higher environmental standards than in other areas."
Clinton said that the positions of the United States in support of labor and environmental rights are viewed as protectionist by developing countries. He rejected that argument.
He said American does cede some sovereignty when it joins international organizations.
"We yield the right to be unilateral and not bound by a system of rules anytime we join any kind of organization," he said. "You join any kind of organization in which there are going to be disputes you can't say that 'I'll only follow the rules when we win.' And you can't say that any organization made up of human beings will be error free."
Asked what the United States is willing to concede during the next round of trade talks, Clinton said he is willing to open U.S. markets "to countries that follow responsible policies."
But Clinton was adamant that he is unwilling to talk about the United States' anti-dumping rules, which penalize countries that sell products below cost to U.S. consumers. For example, the Washington state apple industry has persuaded the Clinton administration to impose tariffs on Chinese apple juice concentrate exporters, who have driven some domestic apple growers out of business by selling concentrate at prices the United States says are below cost.
U.S. anti-dumping rules are defended as simple fairness by U.S. officials, and are much valued by the American labor movement. But the rules are hated by countries such as Japan, which have been penalized for alleged dumping.
"For the Europeans to tell us we should stop (enforcing) dumping (laws) when during the Asian crisis we bought literally 10 times as much foreign steel as they did is a little ludicrous when they have absolute quotas on the number of foreign cars they will buy that we don't have," he said. "We can't give up our dumping laws as long as we have the most open markets in the world and we keep them open to help these countries keep going and other countries don't do the same."
P-I reporter Michael Paulson can be reached at 202-943-9229 or michaelpaulson@seattle-pi.com
P-I Reporter Paul Nyhan contributed to this report.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
"What we ought to do first of all is to adopt the United States' position on having a working group on labor within the WTO, and then that working group should develop these core labor standards, and then they ought to be a part of every trade agreement, and ultimately I would favor a system in which sanctions would come for violating any provision of a trade agreement," Clinton said.
For more coverage, see our WTO index.
"It is legitimate to say that if people are out there working and selling their products in an international arena and Americans are going to buy them . . . we ought not to buy from countries who violate the child labor norms, we ought not to buy from companies that basically oppress their workers with labor conditions and lack of a living income," Clinton said.
See a transcript of Michael Paulson's interview with President Clinton.
· Obama daughters to attend pricey Sidwell school
· Hells Angels member pleads guilty in fatal melee
· The fly who loved me? U.S. designing tiny 'spies'
· Cameras, snipers to keep watch on inauguration
· Mexico says a cartel bought off drug czar
· Protesters set Bush effigy on fire
· Space water device shut down again
· Bush seeks China's help on N. Korea in last foreign trip
· Clinton set to be secretary of state
· 8 workers penalized in Big Oil gifts, sex scandal
· 45 years later, couple still relive that fateful day near grassy knoll
· Teen's suicide via webcam was no joke
more
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 1.7 million unique visitors
and 30 million page views each month.
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
