52 



Some of my questions have been raised already by my colleagues, 

 particularly the origin as it relates to peanuts. I will just submit 

 those questions likewise. 



But let me raise another question because you raised it for us. 

 In order to make this instrument accepted, you proposed a number 

 of side agreements that will speak to concerns that we have. 



Beyond agriculture, I have a concern about the NAFTA from the 

 point of view of the environment. I have a concern from the point 

 of view of low wages. 



You see, I come from rural America in eastern North Carolina 

 where a lot of the low entry level jobs are proposed to be replaced 

 if this comes through. I don't see on the horizon any effort to mini- 

 mize the conversion of that. 



I speak particularly to the textile workers, but the same thing 

 would be with farmworkers and their wages. You just can produce 

 cheaper if you went to Mexico. 



Not only the enforcement, which some of my colleagues raised 

 sufficiently, but I want to raise what you're doing proactively rec- 

 ognizing that that is going to be a significant problem in parts of 

 our county where we already have underemployment. This would 

 further erode that. 



Ambassador Kantor. That is hitting the nail right on the head. 

 In fact, that is what the President on October 4 talked about in 

 your State when he talked about the supplemental agreements to 

 NAFTA. 



Unless we begin to harmonize worker's standards — which in- 

 cludes wages, working conditions, safety, environmental stand- 

 ards — and begin to do two things: Better the situation as it is right 

 now in Mexico and throughout North America and harmonize 

 them; and begin to harmonize the cost of doing business. We don't 

 have a situation that is in fact substantially bettering what we 

 have today. 



What we have today is the flight of capital and production. You 

 can't stop that from happening. It has already happened to some 

 degree. If in fact we can come back with successful, meaningful 

 supplemental agreements, as I have said, we can then harmonize 

 standards and begin to address exactly the problem you have ar- 

 ticulated so well. 



That is what we are about in these supplemental agreement ne- 

 gotiations. That is what the President called for on October 4 and 

 then reiterated on December 17 and at American University. 



Mrs. Clayton. Thank you. 



Mr. English. Mr. Hilliard. 



Mr. Milliard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I believe that the supplemental agreements are going to really 

 overshadow the agreement from the information you continuously 

 give. 



During the negotiation of the North American Free-Trade Agree- 

 ment, was an agreement made to settle side issues that were not 

 purely trade to be negotiated later, or are we in effect reopening 

 the negotiations? 



Ambassador Kantor. First of all, I wasn't there. I was out cam- 

 paigning. 



