THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                              NAFTA NOTES 
                       Friday, September 24, 1993

             Court Rules in Administration's Favor on NEPA

        * In a ruling handed down this morning, the three judge panel of

the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia announced its unanimous decision that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) does not require the Clinton Administration to prepare an environmental impact statement in connection with the NAFTA. The court ruled that "[b]ecause we conclude that NAFTA is not "final agency action" under the APA, we reverse the decision of the district court and express no view on the government's other contentions."

• Returning from his trip to Florida, President Clinton said, "First, I applaud this decision. And second, I want to emphasize that if this agreement goes through, it will lead to improvements in the environment and increased investment on the Mexican side of the border in environmental cleanup." This decision reversed the June 30 decision of Judge Charles Richey, which had raised uncertainty about the Administration's ability to go forward and seek Congressional approval of NAFTA.
• In a press briefing -- by NAFTA Coordinator William Daley, USTR Mickey Kantor, EPA Administrator Carol Browner, Associate Attorney General Webb Hubbell and Under Secretary of State Tim Wirth -- Ambassador Kantor said that the Administration was "gratified" by the court's decision to overturn Judge Richey's ruling, and noted "that the Richey decision raised in the minds of many the feeling that NAFTA could have an adverse impact on the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth." EPA Administrator said, "I welcome the court's decision because the decision is good for NAFTA, and NAFTA is good for the environment," and called NAFTA "the most environmentally sensitive trade agreement in history."
• Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chair of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee and the Senate Finance Trade Subcommittee, said: "Today's decision removes a potential procedural roadblock for NAFTA. Coupled with last week's send-off at the White House, NAFTA is on a winning streak -- not a long one -- but a winning streak nonetheless." Rep. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called the environmental side agreement "an unprecedented linking of environmental protection to trade", and said the decision cleared the way for Congress to decide the real question on NAFTA: "Isn't it better to pass this NAFTA that permits monetary penalties and trade sanctions for environmental violations, than to sit by while pollution increases under the status quo?"

NAFTA Fact

• The six national environmental groups that have endorsed NAFTA represent 7.5 million members, some 80 percent of those belonging to environmental groups.