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GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1992
MacSharry Warns US on Trade War
Some of the participants at the luncheon hosted jointly by the Law Society and the
International Law and Practice Section of the ABA.
Addressing a sell-out showcase
luncheon organised jointly by the
Law Society of Ireland and the
International Law and Practice
Section of the ABA, EC
Commissioner for Agriculture,
Ray
MacSharry,
warned that if the US
proceeded to take unilateral action
against Community imports, the
European Community would have to
retaliate against such action.
"Clearly, such a chain of events
would have very serious implications
for trade on both sides of the
Atlantic and for a successful
outcome to the Uruguay Round of
the GATT negotiations. Hopefully,
reason and respect for international
rules will prevail over unilateralism."
Commissioner MacSharry said: "the
Uruguay Round remains a very
important issue to be resolved before
the end of this year. Since I became
Commissioner responsible for
Agriculture and Rural Development,
I have seen many GATT deadlines
come and go. I am, however,
reasonably optimistic about the
possibility of a successful conclusion
before the end of this year.
"The reform of the Common
Agricultural Policy was welcomed by
the G7 summit in Munich. It is clear
that the Community is willing to
play its part in bringing about a
more market orientated approach in
international trade in agriculture.
However, it is clear that to achieve
that objective there will have to be an
imput from all the players on the
world scene." Mr. MacSharry said
that a failure of the Uruguay Round
could lead to a crisis of confidence in
the world trading system which would
be in nobody's interest. There
remained, however, several very
important issues to be resolved not
only in relation to agriculture but also
in the fields of market access as well
as commitments in the services sector.
"Clearly, we are all going to have to
make a comparable effort, and not
do anything which would
compromise the political climate. In
this regard, I would very much hope
that the United States will refrain
from taking unilateral action against
Community imports in the context
of their disagreement with the
Community as regards the impact of
the EC oilseeds regime on US
exports of these products. The
Community is at present negotiating
with the US and other interested
countries within the GATT on a new
regime for imports of oilseeds. I
hope that the US abide by the GATT
rules in this matter.
"A successful and balanced outcome
of the Uruguay Round would
demonstrate that the developed and
developing countries alike are
determined to work in harmony to
(Continued overleaf)
ABA Honours
Anita Hill
The ABA Commission on Women in
the Profession honoured Professor
Anita Hill
by presenting her with a
special Margaret Brent Women
Lawyers of Achievement Award, " to
recognise her profound impact on
American society in general and on
women lawyers in particular". Ms.
Hill, who has been a Professor of
Law at the University of Oklahoma
since 1986, attracted world-wide
publicity when she appeared before
the US Senate Judiciary Committee
hearings on the nomination of
Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme
Court and alleged that she had been
sexually harassed by him. At the
Awards luncheon, Professor Hill said
that she was accepting the Award on
behalf of more than 1,000 women
lawyers "who in 1990 reported
having witnessed or experienced
some form of sexual harassment."
She said that women have to fight
the premise that no woman can be
perceived to be telling the truth
about harassment and abuse.
The keynote speaker at the Awards
luncheon was
Hillary Rodham
Clinton,
a former Chairman of the
ABA Commission on Women and
wife of the Democrat presidential
candidate, Bill Clinton. Hillary
Clinton said "as women and as
lawyers, we must never again shy
from raising our voices against
sexual harassment - or against the
persistent and often illegal
discrimination that still limits
opportunities for pay and promotion
- and against the glass ceiling that is
often translucent but never
transparent." Ms Clinton said that
when the ABA Commission on
Women in the Profession held its
first hearings five years ago, "we
came away deeply disturbed to learn
first hand of both the persistent
discrimination and serious barriers
to balancing professional demands
and personal obligations that
continue to confront women in the
legal profession".
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