III. TRADE-RELATED ORGANIZATIONS
Labor Advisory Committee (LAC). A policy-level committee that forms part of the private sector advisory system established by Congress to ensure that US trade policy and negotiating objectives reflect US commercial and economic interests. The LAC provides advice on labor issues related to bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. The roughly 100 LAC members, representing the range of organized labor in the United States, are appointed by the USTR in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor.
Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) or Asociacion Latino Americana de Integracion (ALADI). A regional cooperation organization and preferential arrangement including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. LAIA was established by the Montevideo Treaty of 1980; it superseded the Latin American Free Trade Area (LAFI' A), which was abandoned largely because of inflexible rules governing the integration process.
Mano River Union (MRU). A customs union including Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra ,. Leone. It was founded in 1973 as a bilateral agreement between Liberia and Sierra Leone; Guinea joined in 1980. Objectives include trade expansion through elimination of tariffs on intra-group trade; economic integration; and sectoral cooperative programs. A common external tariff has been in effect since 1977. Duty-free treatment is provided for goods with at least 35 percent local content, but little progress has been made in reducing non-tariff barriers. Policy coordination is currently suspended due to the civil war in Liberia.
Matignon or Hotel Matignon. The office of France's Prime Minister.
MERCOSUR. See Southern Common Market.
MITI. Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, responsible for international trade policy (including trade finance and export insurance) as well as various industrial policies of Japan. The MITI acronym is also used by various countries in addition to Japan.
MOF. Ministry of Finance (various countries).
MOFA. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (various countries).
MOFERT. China's ministry of foreign economic relations and trade.
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. An independent agency of the World Bank group established in 1988 to guarantee eligible investments against non-commercial losses. Its current membership includes 9 developed countries and 20 LDCs.
Multilateral Trade Organization (MTO). A proposed organization that would subsume the GAIT, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, and any organizational arrangement needed to implement an agreement dealing with intellectual property rights upon conclusion of the Uruguay Round negotiations (see Sec. I).
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). An organization representing US industry views on national and international economic issues, including trade, international finance and investment, and multinational corporations. NAM also reviews and responds on legislation, administrative rulings, and judicial decisions affecting US industry. It is based in Washington, DC.
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). A private, nonprofit organization engaged in quantitative analysis of US domestic and international economic issues. NBER-sponsored studies and conferences generally involve leading economists from US universities. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
National Economic Council (NEC). The NEC was established at the outset of the Clinton Administration to coordinate US domestic and international economic policies. Chaired by the President, the NEC is composed of the Vice President, the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Energy , the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the US Trade Representative, the National Security Advisor, and the Assistants to the President for Economic Policy, Domestic Policy, and Science and Technology Policy. All executive departments and agencies --whether or not represented on the NEC --coordinate economic policy through the Council. The NEC Deputies Committee considers decision memoranda from the TPRG as well as particularly important or controversial trade-related issues, and thus serves as the highest- level group in the interagency mechanism for developing and coordinating US policies on international trade and trade-related investment issues.
National Foreign Trade Council. An organization of US companies engaged in international trade and investment, based in Washington, DC. The Council advocates open international trade, export expansion, and policies to assist US companies competing in world markets.
National Institute of Economic and Social Research. A privately funded British ..research institute specializing in macroeconomic issues, industrial productivity, and comparative industrial organization.
National Planning Association. A private, nonprofit organization specializing in research and economic policy formulation through joint efforts by representatives of US business, labor, and agriculture groups, as well as the applied and academic professions, serving on NP A policy committees. Research and writing for the committees are provided by the NP A's professional staff as well as outside experts. It is based in Washington, DC.
Nikkeiren. Japan's employers' federation, roughly equivalent to the US National Association of Manufacturers. See also Keidanren.
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). Refers to transnational organizations of private parties, including professional associations, foundations, multinational businesses, or other groups with a common interest in a particular policy issue. Organizations with NGO status are permitted to send observers and submit written statements to meetings of the UN Economic and Social Council on the basis of their technical knowledge or special experience.
Nordic Regional Cooperation (Nordic Group ). A regional cooperation organization including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Objectives include coordination of economic, trade, environmental, and social policies; and cooperation on relations with outside countries and multilateral organizations. It was established by the Helsinki Convention of 1962. An inter-parliamentary group functions as the Nordic Council, headquartered in Stockholm. Prime Ministers of the Nordic countries decided in October 1992 to establish a rotating presidency on the EC model in an effort to increase Nordic influence within the EEA. Institutional mechanisms for trade policy coordination among members are well established; members have been generally ..successful in harmonizing policies and establishing cohesion for participation as a group in GATT consultations and negotiations.
One-Thirteen Committee (113 Committee). The central organization in the trade policymaking Structure of the European Community. The Committee is comprised of 12 member-state delegates and one from the EC Commission, and is the primary link between the Commission and member states on trade issues. The 113 Committee assists the Commission in defining and implementing the Community's commercial policy, including tariff rates, export policies, and measures to liberalize trade or-protect EC industries. While the Commission usually acts as the policy initiator and primary trade negotiator with non-EC countries, it works closely with the 113 Committee --taking into account various national interests --in order to ensure eventual approval of its draft agreements. Each member state appoints its own representatives to the 113 Committee; the senior delegates are called "titulaires," and are backed by deputies. As the main Committee members, the titulaires are the key trade policymakers in their respective governments, holding positions (usually as career civil servants) roughly equivalent to a US Assistant or Under Secretary. The 113 Committee deputies --primarily counselor- level officials from the member states' permanent missions to the Community --work out the mechanics of trade proposals and participate in various subcommittees devoted to specific issues, often joined by working-level experts from their capitals. The number of attendees at the Committee's monthly meetings can reach 50, including advisers and staffers. The Chair of the 113 Committee rotates every six 11'1onths and is held by the member state currently serving as EC president. The Committee takes its name from Article 113 of the Treaty of Rome (Sec.l).
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). An international organization headquartered in Paris that serves as a forum for discussion of trade and other economic and social issues confronting the industrial market economies. The OECD was established in 1960 as successor to the OEEC, the organization originally set up to assist European postwar economic recovery under the Marshall Plan. OECD periodically publishes surveys of member countries' economic performance and prospects --as well as the semi-annual Economic Outlook covering the entire industrialized world --and is the principal source of comparative data on the industrial economies. OECD publications cover a wide range of issues including trade, banking and financial markets, employment, social policies, the environment, agriculture, energy , industry , development aid, science and technology , R&D, nation, education, and transportation. The member countries use the OECD and its various committees and working groups to conduct both studies and negotiations on particular economic, financial, and trade issues; among the key OECD committee~ dealing with such issues are:
* Economic Policy Committee o Trade Committee
* Industry Committee
* Agriculture Committee
* Environment Policy Committee
* Competition Law and Policy Committee o Development Assistance Committee
* Committee on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises
* Committee on Capital Movements and International Transactions
The OECD Secretariat comprises about 600 economists, statisticians, and analysts -- together with some 1,300 other personnel --to support meetings and conferences and prepare documentation and publications. The Secretariat also calls on established scholars in various fields to participate as consultants in the work of the Organization. The Secretariat is divided into specialized Directorates, corresponding roughly to the principal Committees. Several autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies have been set up within the OECD framework, each with its own governing committee. These are:
* International Energy Agency o Nuclear Energy Agency o Development Center o Club du Sahel
* Center for Educational Research and Innovation.
In addition, a Center for Cooperation with the European Economies in Transition was established in 1990 to coordinate OECD work with the Central and East European Countries. Common analysis of issues in the OECD is sometimes instrumental in forging a consensus among industrial countries to pursue certain negotiating goals in the GATT and other international fora. Each of the member countries maintains a permanent delegation to OECD, headed by an ambassador who attends weekly meetings of the OECD Council, chaired by the Secretary-General. Each year in late Mayor early June, the Council meets at the Ministerial level, under the chairmanship of one or more ministers from the member country elected annually to this function. The member countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States (in addition, the EC Commission usually participates in OECD activities). In June 1993, the OECD Council formally initiated the process of examining terms and conditions of accession for Mexico.
Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS). A customs union including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It was founded in 1981 as a sub regional group of CARlCOM. Only Dominica and St. Vincent have implemented the OECS common external tariff.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). A producer cartel comprising 13 leading oil-producing countries that seek to coordinate oil production and pricing policies. Members include Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC was established in September 1960 and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
Overseas Development Council (ODC). A research and educational organization that encourages review of US policies toward developing countries by the business community, educators, policymakers, and journalists. It is based in Washington, DC.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). An agency of the US government established in 1971 to promote private investment in overseas projects, especially in developing countries. OPIC provides start-up assistance as well as direct loans and loan guarantees for equity participation in foreign ventures, but its primary activity is insuring against losses sustained by US investors in foreign equity ventures as the result of political risks (Sec. 11). OPIC services are available only to US citizens and US- controlled corporations.
Pacific Basic Economic Council (PBEC). A consultative grouping comprising government and private-sector representatives from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States. PBEC was founded in 1984 for the purpose of consultation and cooperation on a broad range of economic and trade-related policies. PBEC has held annual conferences and working groups have been operating since 1984. A permanent secretariat was established 1990 in Singapore.
Pancafe. The trading arm of the International Coffee Organization.
Paris Club. An informal designation for meetings between representatives of a .developing country that wishes to renegotiate its official debt (normally excluding debts owned by and to the private sector without official guarantees) and representatives of the relevant creditor governments and international institutions. The meetings are traditionally chaired by a senior official of the French Treasury .Comparable meetings occasionally take place in London and in New York for countries that wish to renegotiate repayment terms for their debts to private banks; such meetings are sometimes called "creditors clubs".
Paris Union. The organization of signatory states to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Sec. I).
Patronat (Conseil National du Patronat Francais, or CNPF). France's employers' council, roughly equivalent to the US National Association of Manufacturers.
Pentagonal Group. See Central European Initiative.
Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA). A preferential arrangement and eventual common market including Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, founded in 1982. Objectives include commercial and economic cooperation, harmonization of policies; elimination of tariffs on all goods traded within region by 2000, and reduction of non-tariff barriers; removal of foreign exchange constraints in intra-regional trade; and cooperation in agriculture. Some tariffs have been reduced on a limited range of products; a common list of goods receiving preferential rates is in effect. Restrictive rules of origin and value-added criteria have reduced coverage of intra-group trade liberalization.
Quai d'Orsay. France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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