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MAD Ati SAAN SENSE OF REJECTION + SU Qawngsgg AEA AAS x SSA Sw Wess 1 Secs Satan ~~ ow ' ITC’s pork ruling, job losses point up trade pact disaster The trade deal that the Tory government Claimed would protect Canadian jobs and Markets instead demonstrated its predicted impact on the Canadian economy this week as the U.S. International Trade Commis- s10n (ITC) slapped a duty on Canadian Pork exports — threatening hundreds of Jobs in Canadian farms and processing Plants and jeopardizing more than $400 mil- lion in exports. . *he ITC ruling, which confirmed an ear- lier decision by the U.S. Commerce partment, came as the Canadian Labour .Ongress continued to chart the Canadian Job losses that have resulted from the anada-U.S. trade deal and government Cutbacks, Figures outlined in the CLC’s Free Trade niefing Document currently being pre- Pared by the Congress show that more than 000 jobs have been lost, or layoffs announced, since the Tories were re-elected and the Canada-U.S. trade deal shoved through Parliament. _Some 12 pages of listings paint a grim Picture of a continuing slide in Canadian Jobs, many of them lost as a direct result of anadian plants and production being Moved to the U.S. and Mexico. The figures showing the drain of jobs to the U.S, stand in direct contradiction to the Claim made to a Commons committee ear- lier this year by Derek Burney, Canadian Mbassador to the U.S., that there was “no €vidence of any uprooting of Canadian Industry” under free trade. According to the Conservatives’ argu- Ments, the trade pact was also supposed to head off job-threatening U.S. trade but that Claim, too, was shown to be groundless with the ITC ruling. Derek Fox, agriculture critic for the New mocrats in Alberta, one province which will be severely affected by the Aug. 28 ITC Tuling, said the decision “confirms that the free trade deal is a complete and utter fail- ure: The U.S. ruling imposes a duty of eight Cents a kilogram on Canadian exports of fresh, chilled and frozen pork, boosting pri- ces about four per cent and cutting exports by “tens of millions of dollars,” according _to.Martin Rice, executive secretary of the ~ Canadian Pork Council. Federal International Trade Minister John Crosbie is expected to apply under the provisions of the trade deal for a binational panel to review the decision. But that pro- cess can only review whether U.S. trade law — a patchwork of regulations tailor- made to U.S. trade interests — has been applied correctly. Canadian trade officials have argued that the U.S. ruling is flawed because a subsidy paid to hog farmers should not necessarily be considered a subsidy to hog processors. But it is precisely that point which was addressed by a recent change to U.S. trade law which nowstates that any farm subsidy is automatically considered a subsidy to processors. As it has done in the past, the U.S. con- tinues to write its own trade rules — and the disputes provision of the trade agree- ment can do no more than see if that law has been properly applied. In any event, the review panel is not likely even to be named until 1990 and then could take months to consider the issue. Mean- while, the duty will remain, curbing pork sales to the U.S.—and industry jobs. Those losses could become the latest sta- tistic in the CLC Job Loss Register which, according to the most recent tally taken to the end of June, showed that 41,912 jobs had either been already cut from the Cana- dian work force or had been announced by companies in various industries. CLC researchers note that the figure is unofficial since many sources of informa- tion about job losses, including government sources, have not been open to them. The job losses are the result of closures, mergers and corporate re-structuring as well as the shifting of production to the U.S., and the “maquiladora” free trade zones in Mexico. “Sometimes the link between job loss and the free trade agreement is clear and direct; sometimes the link is indirect and subtle,” the document states in it introduction. “Sometimes other planks in the Conserva- tive agenda play the predominant role. In most cases, the free trade or market-driven climate that the Tories have engendered is propelling these losses.” Among the job losses are those announ- ced by Carling-O’Keefe and Wardair as a result of the huge corporate merger recently announced by the giants in the brewing and airline industries and subsequently approved by the federal Competition Bureau. Others involve layoffs across the country such as those announced by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Texaco Canada and VIA Rail, among other companies. But dozens of companies have cut Cana- dians from their work force in a free-trade linked shift of production from Canada to _ the U.S. They include Gillette, which cut 590 jobs when it moved production from Montreal to plants in the U.S.; Inglis, which moved washing machine production from Toronto to Ohio (650) jobs; Albright and America, which closed its Newfoundland plant and shifted production to North Carolina (290 jobs); Midas Muffler, which moved muffler production to Wisconsin (140 jobs); Fiber- glass Canada, which is closing its Mission, B.C. plant and moving production to Washington and Oregon, cutting 180 jobs. Not on the list are the job losses in the West Coast fishing industry that could result from the federal government’s decision to give up regulations which previously prevented the export of unprocessed Canadian salmon and herring. U.S. processors had successfully challenged the regulations before the Gen- eral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and Ottawa, under pressure from U.S. negotia- tors, limited its new regulations to landing requirements only — requirements which have proven virtually ineffective. Canada’s position on the West Coast fishery has also been contrasted to the ITC ruling on Canadian pork exports. While Canadian negotiators acquiesced before U.S. demands on salmon and herring in order not to jeopardize Canada-U.S. trade relations, the U.S. has continued to use its trade agencies to take punitive action against Canadian exports. CEQ declines endorsement in Que. vote By MONTSERRAT ESCOLA In a departure from the past, Quebec’s largest trade union central will not be endorsing any political party and instead has called on its members to vote for the individual candidate who comes closest to sup- porting labour’s policies. The CEQ has issued a report card on the Bourassa government and the other two main parties based on its meetings with their executives, lead- ing up to the September 25 election date. The two reports have gone out to members of the CEQ’s general council. According to the central, criteria for support should be based on: broadening the right to organize unions; strengthening trade union rights; expansion of public services; the redistribution of income; an end to marginal jobs (part-time, low- paying, contract, etc.); employment equity and full employment; exten- sive electoral reform allowing new progressive political formations; re- enactment and strengthening of Quebec’s language law, Bill 101. CEQ members are also being asked to take into account candi- dates’ past records, their ability to take individual stands and their commitment to work with and listen to unions and other people’s organi- zations. The Bourassa government gets a low rating from labour and the recent meeting with the party leader- ship confirmed. the mark. The party reiterated its support for what it calls neo-liberal, ie. neo-conservative, values and its position that the state should not “interfere” in the econ- omy. Still the CEQ is being realistic about the Liberals’ chances for re- election. As for the PQ, it has recently assumed a social-democratic mantle, but this hasn’t been enough to make the unions forget the anti-labour actions of the party while it was in government. Also, it is completely obvious that these two parties have not reconsidered either their support for free trade or for the current res- trictions on negotiations with public sector workers. The positions of Quebec’s New Democrats are closest to those of the union, says a CEQ spokesper- son. However, the new NDP leader- ship poses a credibility problem for the CEQ, especially its leader, who the union says has a tendency to stress his own personal opinions rather than the positions of the party. The lack of a practical alternative has led the CEQ to call fora “strong extra-parliamentary opposi- tion and the development of a cred- ible parliamentary opposition.” The election campaign should also provide the opportunity for labour and people’s organizations to join ranks around common con- cerns, the organization says. A proposal which came from the floor of the CEQ general council instructed the labour body to work with progressive representatives after the election with a view to contribut- ing to the eventual creation of a progressive political coalition. Montserrat Escola is editor of L’Al- ternative in Montreal. Pacific Tribune, September 4, 1989 e 3 ific p' AA