Date: February 9, 1994
From: Ken Meter, for IATP (iatp@igc.Apc.Org) or fax: (612) 379-5982
telephone: (612) 379-5980; (612) 869-8664 (h)
Re: IATP needs writers for GATT Fact Sheets
IATP has launched a GATT Fact Sheet project that will show how
environmental issues and constituencies will be affected by the GATT
agreement as drafted.
This memo sets out an overview of the Fact Sheets project and asks
your assistance. We need authors for many of the Fact Sheets. If you
are able to write a solid analysis of how GATT as drafted will affect
any of the issues listed below, please contact us.
If you know of other analysts who could draft such Fact Sheets,
please send us their names as well.
IATP will disseminate a set of Fact Sheets on GATT as soon as
feasible. Each Fact Sheet will be one page in length, and will be made
available in both print and in electronic format.
Release date will be ASAP, so these Fact Sheets can be used to seek
changes in the GATT draft before the scheduled final signing on April
15.
The purpose of the Fact Sheets will be to explain the potential
negative impacts of the the current GATT text on specific aspects of
environmental law or regulation, and to draw in new citizens and
organizations to press for more fair trade provisions at GATT.
The target audience is primarily centrist activist individuals and
organizations already involved in addressing the issue treated in
each Fact Sheet. These people are committed to one environmental
issue but may not have discovered how the GATT text as written will
affect their cause. An example would be someone who has worked
hard to protect marine mammals but has not yet looked into GATT,
who by reading this fact sheet may discover that GATT could have a
significant impact on that work.
The tone of the Fact Sheet should be cautious yet clear. Overall, our
position is that there are very serious problems with the newly
proposed WTO from an environmental perspective, and these need to
be corrected either by re-writing the GATT draft or by specific
changes in the language of the implemention bill in Congress.
The Fact Sheet, if at all possible, should fit on one page. Ideally, it
would run about 500-600 words so it can be produced on one side of
a standard sheet of paper. If you can hold it to 1200 words we can
print both sides of the page and still be OK.
The format will be much like the format of IATPs present fact sheets.
It will be attractively presented, in two columns of highly readable
text, with highlighted quotes, charts and graphs as the subject
requires and as space allows.
If your organization has already produced such a fact sheet for your
own use, could you please forward it to me at IATP so that we can
include it in the set. We will give proper credit if you tell us how to
do so.
The Fact Sheet should:
(1) Explain the GATT provisions relevant to the issue you
address. Summarize or quote the appropriate section of the GATT
draft. (See below for information on how to obtain copies of the GATT
text.) You might select an especially pithy part of the text for use as a
pulled-out quote.
(2) Show how current GATT language might affect the issue
you address.
(3) Offer specific suggestions to the reader for taking effective
action:
(a) Show specifically how the current GATT draft should
be altered to alleviate the harms you identify.
(b) Specify who the reader should contact to request the
needed changes in the GATT draft. Include this
person's address and telephone/fax numbers
and e-mail address.
(c) If the GATT draft cannot be rewritten, then offer
specific language for the implementing bill (which
Congress must approve to implement the GATT
agreement) that will alleviate the harm identified.
(d) Specify who the reader should contact to get this
language into the implementing bill. Include names
of key committee members, with addresses and
telephone/fax numbers and e-mail address.
CitationsJare crucial. Useful Fact Sheets should include as many
citations and references to other written sources as possible. Please
send us copies of important longer articles, testimony, etc., so we can
build thorough files.
If at all possible, submit your text electronically. I can be reached at
e-mail: iatp@igc.apc.org. Diskettes may be sent to me c/o IATP 1313
Fifth Street S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414. Fax (612) 379-5982.
If this is not possible, clean text which can be scanned would be
second best. Include your address, phone, fax and e-mail addresses.
Contact me if you have any questions. My phone is (612) 869-8664,
or leave a message at IATP: (612) 379-5980. I have sample fact
sheets and other materials I can send you.
I will edit for clarity and brevity. If I make any changes that
materially alter content I'll send you a draft with suggested revisions
for your review before publication.
Enclosed is a partial list of some of the topics to be covered in the
Fact Sheets. If you have other suggestions for topics, or would like to
consider writing additional fact sheets, please contact us.
Also following is information on how to order copies of the draft
GATT agreement.
GATT Factsheets / IATP / topics as of February 2, 1994
Multi-fiber agreement
Worker rights
Energy Conservation/Demand-side Management (DSM)
Govt. Procurement
Minority Set-Asides/Preference
Health Care Reform
Negatively Impacted Businesses
Gas Guzzler Tax/CAFE Stds
Affirmative Action
Environmental Technology
Electric Car
Proposition 65
Solar Energy Development
Alternative Energy
Renewable Fuels
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Animal Welfare
BGH/Beef Hormone
Delaney Clause
Circle of Poison
Food Safety/Pesticide Residues
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Dispute Settlement Process
Food Irradiation
Meat Inspection
Community Reinvestment Act
Raw Log Export Ban
Montreal Protocol (ozone)
International Agreements
Chlorine Phase Out
Biodiversity/Genetic Resources
BioTechnology Regulation
Toxics Trade
SuperFund
Sustainable Forestry
Wildlife/Endangered Species Act
Public Utility Commissions
Asbestos
Lead
Right to Know
Tobacco
Infant Formula Marketing
Mexican Labor Rights
Subsidies for Research
Indigenous Treaty Rights
Great Lakes Protection
Fisheries Resources Protection
Soil Conservation
Air Quality Protection
Ocean Protection
Nuclear Safety and Alternatives
Recycling & Waste Management
Antarctica
Sustainable Agriculture
plant takeovers
manufacturing (jobs)
States' constitutional rights
discrimination
incineration
If you have suggestions for additional topics call Ken @ ITAP
Copies of the GATT agreement, "Final Act Embodying the Results of
the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations," can be
obtained for $30 from the Government Printing Office or the National
Technology Information Service (NTIS) of the Dept of Commerce. It is
available in both print and electronic forms.
GPO (print) (202) 783-3238; Order number 041-001-00422-0 (credit
card)
NTIS: To download or to order in print/diskette through Fedworld:
Modem: (703) 321-8020
Internet: fedworld.gov (192.239.92.201)
Phone for help on Fedworld: (703) 487-4608
Print copies order no. PB94-126935
(first class mail) (703) 487-4650
(rush service, extra cost) 1-800-553-NTIS
Diskette copies in wordperfect order no. PB94-501293.