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Japan, Canada, European Union Target Jones
Act | |||
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A further portent of renewed diplomatic pressure on the Jones Act and other
U.S. maritime
cabotage laws arose in Geneva July 12. During a World Trade Organization review of U.S. trade policy, Japan, the European Union, and Canada protested U.S. anti-dumping actions brought against steel-producing countries and attempts to toughen U.S. trade laws. The protest was presented in a paper prepared by the governments and outlined by Nobutoshi Akao, Japan's ambassador to the WTO. The paper said some U.S. policies are contrary to the spirit of free trade and in violation of multilateral trade agreements already in place. One account said the paper "pointed out that the U.S. restricts competition in such sectors as maritime transportation, where domestic services are limited to U.S. carriers." In the recent past, the U.S. has refused to bargain over the Jones Act and other laws that give U.S.-flag vessels sole access to its domestic markets, and there was no specific reference to shipping in the service trade negotiating proposal submitted by the U.S. to World Trade Organization ministers on July 29. The cabotage laws have survived General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the initial three-year round of General Agreement on Trade in Services maritime sector negotiations that ended without agreement in 1996. The GATS talks will resume in 2000, when the WTO is expected to rule on Jones Act legitimacy at Japan's request. | |||
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