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Media Release
For Immediate
Release: Wednesday 1st December
1999
US FINDS SOME
FRIENDS?
Pressure on
UK/Germany/Finland over Forests &
ATL
President Clinton’s
claims that the US will take
environmental issues seriously in the
WTO talks have been undermined by news
that the Administration is hunting for
allies in the drive to eliminate
tariffs on forest products and seven
other key industrial sectors. Such a
deal would increase logging and
deforestation in biodiversity hotspots
such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
The European Union
has supported broad negotiations in the
WTO on tariffs but has opposed the US
proposal for a special deal on forests
(the ATL). But FOE understands from
sources in the UK and other European
Governments that the US has targetted
three EU countries as
‘weak
links’
in opposition to the deal.
The countries are the United Kingdom,
Germany and Finland. Japan had also
been a strong opponent of the planned
forest deal, but may be backing down in
the face of the US push.
Commenting, Tony
Juniper of FOE England Wales and
Northern Ireland said:
‘President Clinton
came to Seattle to cover the summit in
a gush of warm words about the
environment. But we now discover that
the US is trying to find soft targets
among European Governments to ram
through a free trade deal on forests.
This would be a disaster for the
world’s environment. Forests are
already disappearing at a frightening
rate, threatening mass extinctions and
contributing to dangerous climate
change.
President Clinton’s
claims of environmental concern are
clearly so much hypocrisy. But we call
on the UK, German and Finnish
Government delegates to make it crystal
clear that no free trade forest deal
will be agreed in Seattle. These
delegates are here to represent the
interests of their peoples, not to be
poodles for the US Administration and
its big business backers.’
Contact: Ian Willmore (206) 953
3073
German translation on:
www.foeeurope.org/bund
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