The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1992

MacSharry Warns US on Trade War

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".

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 outcome to the Uruguay Round of the GATT negotiations. Hopefully, reason and respect for international rules will prevail over unilateralism." for trade on both sides of the Atlantic and for a successful 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 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) be in nobody's interest. There remained, however, several very

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