INTERVIEW WITH COMMERCE SECRETARY WILLIAM M. DALEY
CBS Television

December 5, 1999

Q: (AFL-CIO President) John Sweeney just said no deal is better than a bad deal. Is that your view of what happened in Seattle?

DALEY: Well President Clinton would be of the same opinion and that's why we fought to make sure that agriculture subsidies were done away with, that markets were open for American products so American working men and women would see opportunities for their companies that they work for to sell their products. So there's no question a bad deal was not going to be done in Seattle. We're optimistic that we made progress on a host of issues to be moved forward but we think that what was done in Seattle as far as some progress on issues was positive. But I would agree with him 100 percent that we were not going to do a bad deal.

Q: There are some people who say it was a public relations disaster for the administration, it was a disaster frankly on all parts because the whole thing failed. Now there's no talks, there's nothing going forward. I mean how can you say that you think you've made some progress?

DALEY: Well, there is a built-in agenda that must move forward. Agriculture, services negotiations, government procurement, these are launched automatically by the WTO in negotiations as of January 1, 2000. Whether they can be brought to completion is the question, and we are hopeful that they will because if there is progress made on doing away with agriculture subsidies, more American agriculture products can be sold around the world. If there's products or services are open in more countries, more American countries products can be successful.

Q: I guess what I'm saying is, if you have a trade meeting and you can't come up with anything, doesn't that make it harder for the United States to export things, for one thing?

DALEY: First of all, we are the largest exporters in the world. We'd like to export more, we will have that opportunity. These negotiations have failed twice before in Montreal and also in Brussels once before so in trade negotiations everytime there's an attempt to launch a round, it isn't always successful but eventually they will be successful and we will have a chance to sell more products.

Q: Secretary Daley can the United States dictate fair labor standards to developing nations? Isn't that what this is all about?

DALEY: No, we aren't trying to tell each country what the standards ought to be. But there's no question that there ought to be an acknowledgement by the world that labor standards in labor issues are important to people, and that's what the President was saying. And whether it's in the WTO or whatever form, these issues need to be discussed. The President didn't say they must be done on our terms or this year.

Q: But the President talked about a certain kind of sanctions if these countries violated some core labor standards. Isn't that dictating what labor standards are?

DALEY: But there would have to be an agreement in a multi-lateral organization, we couldn't dictate it. What he was saying was that eventually he thought that there would be a consensus that would develop?

Q: But you didn't even get a working group together which is what you wanted, to try and figure out what these standards ought to be, so isn't it a failure in that sense?

DALEY: Well it's disappointing, no question about it, but the fact is this President has stated repeatedly from 1992. You know when he did the North American Free Trade Agreement, that was the first trade agreement ever that there was any discussion of environment and labor. And we think that's a positive step and we think it will continue as trade negotiations continue in the next century.

Q: Gloria mentioned this whole business of sanctions. Apparently the President fairly well stunned the delegates out there when he suggested that the World Trade Organization ought to develop some way to use trade to penalize countries for non-trade violations as it were and things they didn't like. Where did that come about and how did it and was he really serious about that?

DALEY: Well you have to look over the last seven years. The President has been consistent to talk about labor and trade. Our economies are changing rapidly. Issues that were considered social issues whether they're labor or environment are issues that effect the economics and effect the trade patterns of the world. And they've got to be looked at. He didn't say now, he didn't say here's the American script on sanctions.

Q: But some people say the reason he raised it in the first place was simply as a way to help Vice President Gore in his campaign because this thing is heading down the road, organized labor is totally against it and he was trying to find someway to help the Vice President on this.

DALEY: Well, Bob, people today try to interpret every word that's said in any context as somehow related in the year 2000. Again, this President has been consistent about these issues for now almost eight years.

Q: You don't think that was a part of it?

DALEY: No I don't at all.

Q: You just heard Mr. Sweeney say that he would like some conditions to be applied in this vote to normalize trade relations with China that Congress is going to take up when it returns this winter. Could you agree to add some kind of conditions onto that vote?

DALEY: These negotiations to open the Chinese market, this is what this agreement is about, it's not about opening our market, our market is open, we've gotten the Chinese after 13 years of negotiations to agree to open their market for our products. This is a good deal for the American agriculture community and the American working men and women.

Q: So is that a no. You wouldn't go back to the Chinese and say now you got to add some stuff onto it?

DALEY: Congress can try to do whatever they want on some of these issues, but the fact of the matter is we have a deal that we believe standing alone is a very good deal for the American economy and the American working men and women and it brings China into a structure and to agree to rules and a dispute settlement process that is a good system.

Q: Given what went on this week in Seattle, do you believe that normalizing relations with China will pass in the Congress?

DALEY: I believe it will, because I think it's a good deal for American working men and women.

Q: Alright, Mr. Secretary, thank you, we'll leave it there, thank you for coming by.