U.S. approves GATT industry to benefit

Meantime, the auto industry's plans to go global get an extra boost as Congress passes GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), which will reduce tariffs around the world by more than $700 billion over the next 10 years, eliminate limits on imports and end the local-content requirements on goods. "GATT has the same benefits as NAFTA, only on a wider basis," says Richard A. Snell, president and CEO of Tenneco Automotive. "Businesses are helped whenever trade barriers are eliminated. Little country policies are causing all kinds of irrational business decisions." With Congress' approval the U.S. will participate in the new World Trade Organization, which will govern commerce among some 100 nations.