FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
January 14, 2000
No. TR-18
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-IL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the outcome of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial held in Seattle. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, February 8, 2000, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. The invited witness will be Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, United States Trade Representative. Also, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing. The Subcommittee intends to hold other hearings on the WTO in the future.
BACKGROUND:
The Uruguay Round was the eighth round or series of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The agreements reached at the end of 1994 during the Uruguay Round were noteworthy in that they greatly expanded coverage of GATT rules beyond manufactured goods trade to include agricultural trade, services trade, trade-related investment measures, intellectual property rights, and textiles. One of the most visible accomplishments of the Uruguay Round was to establish the WTO to administer the GATT agreements and to settle disputes among WTO members. The so-called "built-in agenda" of the Uruguay Round Agreements calls for the resumption of negotiations by the year 2000 to further liberalize trade in agriculture and services, as well as the examination of government procurement practices and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
The WTO Ministerial conference that was hosted by the United States in Seattle, Washington, from November 30 through December 4, 1999, was to have formally launched these negotiations. At this meeting representatives of the 135-member countries of the WTO considered the procedures and substance of the "built-in" WTO agenda, as well as other issues including transparency, possible reforms to the dispute settlement system, treatment of electronic commerce, and the accelerated Tariff Liberalization effort for industrial tariffs.
However, in a major setback on December 3, following four days of meetings, Conference Chairperson Charlene Barshefsky announced a suspension of negotiations, saying: "Our collective judgement, shared by the WTO Director General, the Working Group Chairs, and the membership generally, was that it would be best to take a time out, consult with one another, and find creative means to finish the job."
Convening in Geneva on December 17, 1999, the WTO General Council decided to postpone until early 2000 a decision on how to proceed with the "built-in agenda" and other issues outstanding from the Seattle Ministerial Conference. At this meeting, one of the proposals on the table sought delays in the December 31, 1999, deadlines for applying obligations and other provisions of existing WTO agreements - for example, in intellectual property and trade related investment measures.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane said: "The Seattle Ministerial meeting represented a significant lost opportunity for U.S. workers, businesses, and farmers. It is important that Congress investigate the cause of the failed outcome, as well as the adequacy of logistical and other preparations for this meeting of trading nations. We must critically examine where we go from here in a manner that is productive to our trade agenda and our goal of expanding markets abroad for U.S. goods and services."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing will be to examine preparations for the Seattle Ministerial Meeting and the course of events leading to a suspension of negotiations without agreement on a Ministerial Declaration. Testimony will be received on: (1) causes of the impasse; (2) the negotiating strategies pursued by the United States and its trading partners; (3) the impact of the failure to launch a new round of WTO negotiations on jobs, wages, economic opportunity, and the future competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and service providers; (4) how the United States can achieve more forward movement on the "built-in agenda"; (5) prospects for future WTO negotiations, including what issues are ripe for discussion in tandem with negotiations on the "built-in", and the status of, provisions in the Uruguay Round Agreements that may be time-sensitive.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Wednesday, January 25, 2000. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit
200 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Friday, February 4, 2000. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, February 22, 2000, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.