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Reps. Baesler, Pryce Back NAFTA After Meeting with President
After a meeting with the President at the White House with a
group of their Congressional colleagues, Representatives Scotty Baesler
(D-KY), and Deborah Pryce (R-OH) came out in support of NAFTA.
"Americans have always exhibited a willingness to face competition
anywhere it is found around the globe," Rep. Baesler said. "A retreat
from NAFTA is to retreat from the American experience."
"I am pretty committed now," Rep. Pryce told reporters after the
meeting. "There is now a comfort level for me to do the right thing" on
NAFTA, Pryce said.
The President will meet again today with another group of
lawmakers to continue his personal efforts to build support for
Congressional approval of NAFTA.
VP, Cabinet Discuss NAFTA with VA, MD Business & Community Leaders
Continuing the successful state leadership days, the Vice
President, OMB Director Leon Panetta, EPA Administrator Carol Browner,
and NAFTA Coordinator William Daley, met yesterday with over 100
business, environmental and community leaders from Virginia and Georgia
to discuss job creation and other benefits of NAFTA in their states.
Georgia and Alabama leaders arrive today to continue the state-by-state
dialogue.
Energy Secretary O'Leary Announces Report on Oil Industry Benefits
Under NAFTA
In a speech in Oklahoma City yesterday, Energy Secretary
Hazel O'Leary announced a Commerce Department report which found
that the Oil and Gas Equipment sector will benefit greatly from
the approval of NAFTA. Tariffs on over 80 percent of such
equipment will be eliminated within 5 years, with the rest
phased-out within 10 years. The Mexican market for oil and gas
machinery was $1.5 billion in 1992, and is expected to grow by 15
percent annually through 1994. NAFTA will also open up
procurement by Mexican state-owned energy companies such as PEMEX
and CFE, which have a combined budget of over $8 billion. The
Petroleum Manufacturers and Suppliers Association estimates that
exports of its members products will triple under NAFTA, creating
up to 3,000 new jobs.
NAFTA Fact
An Atlanta-based Environmental Technology company, Law
Environmental, announced Tuesday that it had won a contract to
design and build a wastewater treatment plant in central Mexico.
The company recently entered into a joint venture with a Mexican
company to service the growing environmental cleanup and
technology market in Mexico -- a $1.1 billion market in 1992.