NAFTA NOTES Wednesday, September 22, 1993 Kantor, Espy, Reich Testify on Capitol Hill * Yesterday, U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee at a hearing on the NAFTA. In his remarks, Ambassador Kantor discussed Mexico's many agricultural non-tariff barriers stating: "In our bilateral relationship, the maintenance of these non-tariff barriers helps Mexico much more than it helps us. Conversely, the elimination of these barriers will be more beneficial to the United States than to Mexico." Kantor testified that the passage of NAFTA will sweep away these and other barriers, greatly increasing U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico. * Secretary Espy picked up on Kantor's theme of increased exports, and testified that since 1986 when Mexican President Salinas first came into office and began reforms, "we had export sales there of about $1 billion, and just by [Salinas'] unilateral actions, we've seen almost a quadrupling in the U.S. presence in their agricultural market [to $4 billion annually]." With NAFTA and the removal of the remaining Mexican barriers to U.S. agricultural products, Espy testified "for the first time, we will be dealing on a level and on a fair playing field" with a market of 90 million Mexican consumers. * Labor Secretary Robert Reich also testified before the Senate Finance Committee yesterday regarding NAFTA labor issues. Addressing the concern that low Mexican wages would draw U.S. manufacturing jobs south, Reich argued that many factors other than wages impact a company's investment decisions, concluding "[i]f low wages were the key to where manufacturers located, manufacturers would be locating in Bangladesh and Haiti. Those would become the manufacturing capitals of the world." Mitchell, Bradley, Baucus Reaffirm Support of NAFTA * In a Senate press conference yesterday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell joined Senators Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and Max Baucus (D-MT) in reaffirming their support for NAFTA and responded to Rep. Richard Gephardt's (D-MO) announced opposition. Mitchell expressed his "belief that the NAFTA will be good for Maine, good for the country and will be approved by the Congress." Sen. Max Baucus, Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Senate Finance Trade Subcommittee, said "I have the utmost respect and admiration for Dick. ...But he is simply wrong on this issue." Baucus continued, "I have the utmost confidence that, after the smoke clears, after the dust settles, and the American people and the Congress know more about the facts and less about the rhetoric, that NAFTA will pass. It will pass this, and it will pass both bodies."