CRACKDOWN ON ARMS TRAFFICKING HAILED

Clinton, Zedillo call 34nation agreement against gun trade
vital to fighting drug war

By CRAGG HINES
Copyright 1997 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON The U.S. and Mexican presidents hailed Friday the conclusion
of a hemispheric agreement to crack down on weapons trafficking as an
important step in the war against illegal drugs.

President Clinton, in a ceremony at the headquarters of the Organization of
American States, said the international protocol "will help us to fight the
unlawful trade in guns that contributes to the violence associated here in
America with drugs and gangs."

"Our 34 democracies are speaking with one voice, acting with one
conviction, leading toward one goal to stem the flow of illegal guns and
munitions and explosives in our hemisphere," Clinton said.

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, who first proposed the agreement,
welcomed its signing but said it was "only one of many steps that must be
taken in order to step up the overall battle against crimes such as drug
trafficking."

The signing was the centerpiece of two days of meetings between Clinton,
the Mexican leader and their top aides.

Before the OAS ceremony, Clinton told Zedillo during a White House meeting
that the United States would soon seek formal consultations with Mexico on
assuring the safety of imported food, U.S. officials said.

The move comes after reports of food poisoning believed traced to fruits
from Mexico and Guatemala. Food imports to the United States have doubled
since 1980, and currently an estimated 38 percent of fruit and 12 percent
of vegetables come from abroad.

"Both presidents agreed there would be some mechanism established and
promptly so to discuss this in further detail," said Thomas F. "Mac"
McLarty III, Clinton's special adviser on Latin American affairs. He
pointed out that with the United States being the largest agricultural
exporting company "we in no way want to inhibit the free flow of goods, but
we do have a genuine concern about food safety."

Clinton also assured Zedillo that he would again seek congressional
approval for broad trade negotiating authority which he failed to secure in
the session that ended Thursday.

"I think that this is not the last chapter in this story," Clinton said as
he greeted Zedillo. "I believe that you will see some more movement early
next year, and I wouldn't be too discouraged."

Analysts believe Clinton needs such authority, which limits Congress to a
"yes" or "no" vote on trade deals, if he is to realize his goal of
freetrade zone throughout North America and South America. The hemispheric
trading relationship is to be the key agenda item on the for the Summit of
the Americas in Chile next April.

Clinton said he would "urge our friends throughout Latin America not to
overreact" to the refusal of Congress, led by House Democrats, to renew the
president's "fasttrack" authority.

At the OAS, Clinton was careful to point out that the international weapons
protocol "will neither discourage nor diminish the lawful sale, ownership
or use of guns."

James Dobbins, the National Security Council's chief Latin America
specialist, said that an information exchange called for in the protocol
was "the most important element in this convention."

"Right now most of the information we have is anecdotal," Dobbins said.

Clinton said that by working together, the nations of North and South
America "can put the black market in weapons out of business."

The agreement also:

ú Requires countries to establish strong export, import and international
transit licenses for arms, ammunition and explosives. Clinton said the aim
was "to make sure that weapons won't move without explicit permission from
all the countries concerned."

ú Requires markings on firearms, when they are manufactured or imported, to
make tracing easier.

ú Calls for national laws, where they do not exist, to criminalize illicit
arms production and sales.

"This agreement underscores the new spirit of the Americas and the new
dynamism of (the OAS)," Clinton said. "The mood of the negotiations was not
one of recrimination but of cooperation on behalf of a common goal. We need
more of that. Our hemisphere is setting a new standard for the world in
taking on global challenges."

Zedillo said the agreement "shows that the hemisphere of the Americas is
shouldering its share of the responsibility in building a future of peace
and security for our children and a better future for all."