
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993                   TAG: 9307010359
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

TRADE PACT PROPOSAL HITS SNAG

A federal judge Wednesday tossed a surprise legal roadblock in the path of a landmark trade deal among the United States, Mexico and Canada that almost certainly will delay the pact and potentially could kill it.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Richey of Washington said the North American Free Trade Agreement could not take effect until the government completed an environmental impact statement assessing its potential consequences - a process that could take years.

President Clinton had hoped to convince a reluctant Congress to approve the pact by year's end, along with side agreements being negotiated now with Mexico to ease concerns about environmental degradation and exploitation of workers.

U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said the Clinton administration would appeal the ruling "expeditiously" and continue seeking early congressional approval of the treaty.

But leading lawmakers said the ruling was a major obstacle for the agreement, which already faced an uphill climb in Congress.

The pact is designed to tear down tariffs and other regulatory barriers to trade and is intended to promote investment and economic growth among the three nations.

It would merge the three national economies into one of the world's richest markets, comparable in scale to the European Community, with more than 360 million consumers and more than $7 trillion in annual output.

by CNB