> > =A9 GRANMA INTERNATIONAL 1997. ELECTRONIC EDITION. Havana, Cuba > > = > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > = > > > U.S. companies launch > > campaign against Helm-Burton Act > > = > > > =95 Influential business coalition including General Electric, IBM, > > Exxon and Mobil takes action against legislation directed against Cuba > > = > > > A powerful coalition of major U.S. companies, including Exxon, General > > Electric, IBM and Mobil, has organized a campaign against the > > Helms-Burton Act and economic sanctions in general. > > Frank Kittredge, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said > > in Washington that the country's principal business associations > > believe the U.S. government is striking out blindly with punitive > > measures that nobody understands, according to the Reuters news > > agency. > > Under the name of USA Engage, this influential coalition - which also > > encompasses corporations like Citicorp, Allied Signal Ingersoll Rand > > and Westinghouse, and represents the country's principal exporters of > > goods and services - is joining with the National Association of > > Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in launching a > > campaign aimed at waging a battle on the political front against the > > sanctions established in the Helms-Burton Act. > > According to Kittredge, their basic argument is that unilateral > > sanctions are highly inefficient, and end up being counterproductive. > > A study carried out by the National Foreign Trade Council revealed > > that over the last four years, the United States has approved 61 > > unilateral measures against 35 foreign governments. > > According to the results of the study, these U.S. sanctions had little > > or no effect on other countries but have, however, cost the United > > States billions of dollars in lost business opportunities and jobs. > > U.S. sanctions were not limited to developing or wayward nations. > > Washington also took trade-related reprisals against partners and > > allies like Canada and Italy, and military powers like Russia and > > China. > > The Clinton administration has pontificated on numerous occasions on > > the use of unilateral sanctions, even in cases when the United States > > has been clearly isolated, as in the long-standing economic embargo > > against Cuba. > > The reasoning usually put forward by U.S. authorities like Secretary > > of State Madeleine Albright to explain why they stubbornly cling to > > such unpopular stances is that the United States is genuinely > > "indispensable." > > Up until now, it has been highly unusual for large corporations to > > voice their protest against these sanctions, which tend to represent > > better business opportunities for their foreign competitors. > > But this year, the United States must decide whether to resume > > granting trade preferences to China, predicted to become a rival > > superpower in the coming century. > > Michael Jordan, the president of Westinghouse, a U.S. conglomerate > > that manufactures everything from refrigerators to nuclear plants, > > wrote in the Journal of Commerce that his company had to eliminate > > 3500 jobs due to the prohibition on the sale of nuclear technology to > > China. > > Since 1989, he explained, because China was unable to buy this > > technology from the United States, it has bought or ordered eight > > billion dollars' worth of equipment from France, three billion > > dollars' worth from Canada, and four billion dollars' worth from > > Russia. > > For his part, Kittredge maintained that U.S. businesses also lose when > > automatic sanctions are applied as part of the so-called > > "certification" process, an annual evaluation carried out by the > > United States on how other countries are fighting drugs. > > Due to the fact that Colombia was deemed to have failed this > > evaluation in both 1996 and 1997, the U.S. Eximbank and the Overseas > > Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) are prohibited from financing > > operations in Colombia. > > As a result, U.S. investment in Colombia last year was almost one half > > less than in 1995. > > U.S. companies also complain that Washington's propensity to impose > > sanctions affects their prestige as international suppliers. > > As Kittredge explained, foreign industries are often hesitant to use > > U.S. companies as suppliers, because they never know when the U.S. > > government is going to sanction a country and thus interrupt the > > delivery of parts or services. > > In the meantime, the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reported that a > > group of extreme-right U.S. Congress members were working on reforms > > to render the Helms-Burton Act even tougher. One of those > > congresspeople, Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, reacted violently to > > the campaign announced by U.S. business representatives and wrote to > > them in an attempt to persuade them to cease their efforts. > > Elsewhere, negotiations between the United States and the European > > Union (EU) regarding the application of Helms-Burton, which the ANSA > > press agency characterized as a "permanent headache for U.S. > > diplomacy," continued to offer little noteworthy progress over recent > > days, while the wait goes on concerning what the World Trade > > Organization (WTO) will decide in the arbitration requested by the EU > > against Washington. > > In the meantime, Colombian President Ernesto Samper reiterated his > > condemnation of the legislation in a meeting with a Cuban delegation > > visiting Bogot=E1, while Chilean President Eduardo Frei said that it is > > impossible to talk about and believe in free trade in the Americas > > with unilateral laws in existence. > > Chilean Foreign Minister Jos=E9 Miguel Insulza made similar statements > > along with his Russian colleague, Yevgeni Primakov, during a meeting > > in Moscow, while Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy > > stated that the Helms-Burton Act is an issue that concerns the entire > > international community. > > Venezuelan Foreign Minister Miguel =C1ngel Burelli reiterated that it > > was his country that raised the matter of condemning the U.S. > > legislation within the Organization of American States (OAS), while > > Viola Furbjelke, a Swedish member of parliament and head of its > > foreign affairs committee, maintained that this legislation is > > contrary to international law. > > Cecilia Julin, the deputy director for Latin America in the Swedish > > Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that relations between the United > > States and Sweden have been adversely affected by the application of > > the act. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > = > > > SUMMARY =97 CUBAWEB > > = > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >
