According to Marybeth Kelliher, manager for international trade at the Chemical Manufacturers Association, CMA is already collaborating with chemical industries in Europe in the manner envisioned in the action plan. "Our negotiations are ongoing in all of these different areas, including tariffs, the environment, proliferation. We already have a number of forums in which to address these issues." But the action plan may enhance those efforts, she notes.
For example, CMA's chemical diversion work group meets frequently with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to develop a system to track the domestic and international flow of precursor chemicals used to make illegal drugs. European company representatives recently attended one of these meetings. CMA is also taking part in an intergovernmental forum on chemical safety that is attempting to harmonize the U.S. and EU regulatory systems, including those for notification and labeling.
CMA also strongly supports the action plan's provisions on trade issues, Kelliher says. The countries pledge to complete the unfinished business of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations, sponsored by the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade. CMA is especially interested in lowering tariffs on chemicals worldwide, so it hopes the action plan will accelerate those efforts through its emphasis on working through the World Trade Organization. Bet te Hileman
U.S., South Africa spur joint scientific efforts At a meeting last week of a top-level bilateral commission, the U.S. and South Africa agreed to spur cooperation in science and technology and a broad range of other areas, including several chemically related programs. Vice President Al Gore led a delegation to Pretoria for the second meeting of the U.S.-South Africa Binational Commission. Cochaired by Gore and South African Deputy President Thabo M. Mbeki, the commission was created at an October 1994 meeting between President Clinton and South African President Nelson Mandela and held its inaugural meeting last March in Washington, D.C. South Africa faces enormous tasks of national development after decades of apartheid. The commission is "a pioneering effort to forge a new partnership in the areas of greatest mutual interest and benefit to both peoples," Gore noted. Only Russia and Egypt have such high-level commissions with the U.S. The meeting was attended by officials who cochair the commission's five working committees: science and technology; sustainable energy development; business development; conservation, environment, and water; and human resources development and education. A sixth panel, on agriculture, was announced at the meeting. A highlight of the meeting was the signing by Gore and Mbeki of an umbrella environment, science, and technology agreement. The pact provides a framework and legal context, including intellectual property protection, for governmental joint efforts in areas ranging from energy research to climate prediction to biomedical research.
i
i
Gore and Mbeki exchange signed copies of cooperation pacts in Pretoria. Overseeing implementation of the pact will be the commission's science and technology panel, cochaired by presidential science adviser John H. Gibbons and South Africa's Minister for Arts, Culture, Science & Technology, Ben S. Ngubane. One top priority is education and capacity building in science and technology, seeking to create a new generation of scientific leaders. Committee members discussed an advanced training program in science and engineering for faculty at historically black and disadvantaged South African colleges. The panel also discussed a joint educational program in marine and environmental sciences. Officials signed a cooperative agreement in agricultural science and technology. Members discussed collaboration in biomedical sciences. And the panel will encourage South African students to study math and science by enabling them to hold a televised dialogue during a space shuttle flight next month with a black U.S. astronaut.
Work of the sustainable energy development committee was boosted by the visit of its cochairman, Secretary of Energy Hazel R. CLeary, to South Africa in August, which included the signing of 25 documents (C&EN, Sept. 4, page 21). The two countries have picked 20 key areas for cooperation, including a "fast track" coal-bed methane project, renewable energy technologies, clean-coal technology, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The two nations also signed an agreement on reduction of greenhouse gases and emissions. Deanna Behring, assistant director for international affairs at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, stresses that cooperation with South Africa is not a one-way street. It contains a number of unique research sites of interest to U.S. scientists. And, she says, "There are many fields in which South Africa is among the world leaders, from mining technology to astronomy." Richard Seltzer DECEMBER 11,1995 C&EN 9
