LARRY KING LIVE: THE NAFTA DEBATE {AL GORE, H. ROSS PEROT} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of interview programs hosted by Larry King. In this special edition, King moderates a debate between Vice President Al Gore and billionaire H. Ross Perot on the merits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The deal, which is supported by President Bill Clinton, would eliminate trade barriers among Mexico, Canada, and the United Staes. Gore argues for the agreement and Perot against it. Topics include the following: why President Bill Clinton has decided to back the agreement; the consequences of an elimination of tariffs on imports into Mexico from the U.S.; the notorious "Smoot-Hawley" bill of 1930 which increased tariffs and -- Gore claims -- helped cause the Great Depression; union opposition to NAFTA; the role of lobbyists for and against NAFTA; how large a customer of the U.S. Mexico actually is; the amount of money Perot has invested in blocking NAFTA; whether Perot has business interests in Texas that will benefit from the defeat of NAFTA; current incentives that attract American businesses to Mexico; the political and socio-economic situation in Mexico; elements of the current NAFTA bill that give the U.S leverage, through the ability to impose trade sanctions, thereby compelling Mexico to enforce environmental standards and to raise the minimum wage of workers; chemical dumping by U.S. industries in Mexico; whether NAFTA will help or hinder environmental standards enforcement. Call-in questions from viewers lead to comments on the following topics, among others: how the U.S. can expect to compete long term in an increasingly interdependent world while Europe and the Pacific Rim nations unite through their own trade agreements; why the U.S., as obligated under NAFTA, will pick up that tab for seven billion dollars worth of environmental clean-up in Mexico; what has been learned from the previous free trade agreement with Canada; projections regarding the number of years it will take for new jobs to be created if NAFTA passes: what Perot offers as an alternative plan to NAFTA, including a "social tariff" on Mexico in order to raise the standard of living of the Mexican laborer; the recent boom in U.S. electronics imporation into Mexico; and whether the Japanese are waiting in the wings to make a trade agreement with Mexico if NAFTA is voted down. At the end of the program, King notes that the bill will be voted upon in Congress in eight days. Commercials deleted.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Marc Haas and Helen Hotze Haas Foundation.
Details
- NETWORK: CNN
- DATE: November 9, 1993 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:14:17
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:34511
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: North American Free Trade Agreement; U S - Foreign relations - Canada; U S - Foreign relations - Mexico
- SERIES RUN: CNN - TV series, 1985-2010
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Larry King … Host, Moderator
- Al Gore … Guest
- H. Ross Perot … Guest