The White House NAFTA NOTES Thursday, October 28, 1993 ______________________________________________________________________________ Bentsen, Browner, Rep. Torres Announce NAD Bank, Border Environment Commission * Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen and Rep. Esteban Torres (D-CA) yesterday announced the formation with Mexico of the North American Development Bank. The President, Bentsen stated, "knows that with the environmental side agreement and the new North American Development Bank to help finance environmental cleanup and community adjustment, NAFTA is an example of leadership in protecting our environment." Torres also endorsed NAFTA, and said that these improvements under NAFTA could bring additional House votes. Torres, a former UAW official and a leading member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was joined in endorsing NAFTA by La Raza, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Southwest Voter Research Institute. * Later in San Francisco, EPA Administrator Carol Browner announced the formation of the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission with Mexico which "will serve as the hub for coordinating border financing from a variety of sources, and will assist communities in project development," Browner said. "The BECC and the NADBank will work in partnership with border communities to solve environmental problems long ignored," Browner concluded, "and to make environmental protection at the border a reality." Administration Sends Financing Proposal To Congress * The Administration late Tuesday sent a bipartisan proposal that avoids a tax increase to offset the revenues lost by the tariff cuts under NAFTA to Congress, as required by pay-as-you-go rules. Offsets would come from savings in CCC outlays due to NAFTA, the implementation of an electronic federal tax deposit system, improved Customs collections, and a $1.50 increase in the Customs processing fee for international travelers. Labor Secretary Reich Warns Against Defeat Of NAFTA * Labor Secretary Robert Reich told the annual conference of the National Alliance of Business on Monday that a defeat of NAFTA could play into the hands of our economic competitors. "If we fail to take advantage of the mushrooming markets in Mexico then you can bet other nations will," Reich told the group. "They say that nature abhors a vacuum. Well you'll hear a giant sucking sound if we don't pass NAFTA -- and it will be the sound of Japan and Germany rushing in to take advantage of an opportunity that we passed up." Arizona, Tennessee, Texas Leaders Attend NAFTA Leadership Day * Business and community leaders from Arizona, Tennessee and Texas yesterday attended another in a series of "leadership days" to discuss the benefits of NAFTA for American jobs with the Clinton Administration. CEA Chair Laura Tyson, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and NAFTA Coordinator Bill Daley joined the Vice President in the Administration's continuing dialogue on NAFTA. # # #