ROMANIA new laws are implemented, the old laws are in effect but not enforced and thus there is little effective protection at present for U.S. intellectual property. 8. Worker Rights * a. Right of Association Prior to the December 1989 revolution, the only legal nationwide trade union confederation was the General Union of Free Trade Unions (UGSR). The UGSR was under Communist Party domination, and all Romanian workers were forced to belong to it. The UGSR was dissolved after the revolution. At the same time, Romanian workers began to form and join genuinely free trade unions which, in turn, formed labor federations and confederations. The trade union situation in Romania, however, remains complicated and questions abound on such issues as to whether the UGSR has simply been reconstituted under a new name, the disposition of the USGR's extensive assets, the legal status of the new labor federations, and whether pressures are still exerted on Romanian workers to join semiofficial trade union organizations. b. Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively No law presently exists allowing Romanian workers to bargain collectively. A collective bargaining law has been drafted and will soon be forwarded to the parliament. There is, however, essentially no "management" with whom employees can bargain as Romania is still developing the legal basis for privatizing its state-owned economy. C. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor There is no law that prohibits forced or compulsory labor. The new constitution and labor code may address this issue. The current government has not coerced Romanian citizens to do forced labor. d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children The minimum age for employment is 16 but children as young as 14 may work in industrial enterprises with the consent of their parents or guardians. Working children under 16 have the right to continue their schooling and employers are obliged to assist them in this endeavor. There is no legislated minimum wage in Romania. Wages are currently set according to a complex scale of wages by profession. The lowest wage on this scale is approximately $100 per month. The labor code promises Romanian workers a safe environment, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has established safety standards for most industries and is responsible for enforcing them. The new independent trade unions also offer a means by which workers can act to improve health and safety standards. With the elimination of the Ceausescu regime's obsessive emphasis on meeting production goals, health and safety conditions in the workplace will likely improve. Improvements will be slow, ROMANIA however, as industry struggles to overcome years of deferred maintenance and attempts to replace outmoded machinery and technology. f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment U.S. capital is invested in the electric and electronic equipment sector, as well as in the tourism and telecommunications sectors. The U.S. investment in the goods-producing sector consists of a minority interest in a single joint venture, RomControl Data, held by the U.S. firm Control Data Corporation. The situation regarding worker rights is the same in the electronics sector as in other sectors. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce (unpublished) 0 1 * Section 8 is an abridged version of Section 6 of the Hungary country report included in the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990, submitted to the Congress January 31, 1991. For a comprehensive discussion of worker rights, please refer to that report. Spain has experienced strong, investment-led growth since mid-1985. For the period 1986-89, growth averaged 5.0 percent per annum. However, the contractionary measures taken by the Bank of Spain in 1989, in addition to higher world oil prices, will result in slower growth in 1990 and 1991. Over the long term, the goal of the Spanish government is to attain economic growth levels that exceed the European average in order to close the income gap between Spain and its EC partners. Spain's 1986 accession to the European Community established the framework for the present economic expansion. EC membership has required Spain to open its economy, modernize its industrial base, improve infrastructure, and revise economic legislation to conform to EC standards. At the same time, Spain has attracted much foreign investment as a production center within the EC market. SPAIN After slowing substantially in the mid-1980's, inflation picked up in 1989, prompting the Bank of Spain to impose restrictive monetary and credit measures. Spanish inflation levels continue to be above European averages. To combat inflation, the government plans to continue its tight credit policy and reduce the public sector deficit. It has also called for wage and price restraint. Over the past five years, tourism income and foreign capital inflows have more than compensated for Spain's considerable trade deficit. A number of elements in that equation are now changing. Higher world oil prices will add to the trade deficit. Tourist receipts are off nine percent in 1990, following several years of rapid growth. Capital inflows are beginning to slow. Any slowdown in the world or EC economy would also affect Spain. Spain committed itself to maintain the peseta within a six percent band relative to other currencies in the EMS exchange rate mechanism in June 1989. Because of the restrictive credit policy, inward capital movements to take advantage of relatively higher interest rates pushed the peseta towards the top of the band. By 1992, Spain will move to the narrow band (2 1/2 percent) within the EMS. To achieve that, the Spanish rate of inflation will have to be perceived as approaching the average of those of its trading partners. Spain still retains, but does not apply, capital controls which inhibit Spanish citizens from freely purchasing foreign exchange. The government has promised to lift such controls by January 1, 1993, but it may do so earlier. The terms of Spain's Treaty of Accession to the EC required Spain to open its economy. By December 1992, Spanish tariffs must be phased out for imports from other EC countries, and they must be lowered to the EC's common external tariff for imports from non-EC countries. Many non-tariff barriers must also be reduced or eliminated. While areas of dispute remain (see Section 5), the trend is strongly toward a more open economy. The EC program to establish a single internal market has accelerated Spain's integration into the EC. Spain's membership in the EC also required liberalization of its foreign investment regulations and the foreign exchange regime. Complete freedom of capital movement will be established by 1993 at the latest. In July 1989, a securities market reform law went into effect. The reform provides for more open and transparent stock markets, as well as for licensing of investment banking services. The reform liberalizes conditions for obtaining a stock brokerage license but provides for a transition period through 1992. EC efforts to harmonize tax structures among member states under the single market program will eventually require relatively greater reliance on indirect taxation, including SPAIN increased excise taxes on products such as tobacco and alcoholic beverages. The income tax system will also be reformed, probably in 1991. Faced with the loss of the Spanish feed grain market as a result of Spain's membership in the EC, the United States negotiated an enlargement agreement with the EC in 1987 to establish a 2.3 million ton annual quota for Spanish imports of corn, non-grain feed ingredients and sorghum from non-EC countries during a four-year period. After protracted negotiations in the Fall of 1990, the EC agreed to extend the existing agreement for one year (to December 1991), and to commence negotiations to June 1991 to review the Enlargement Agreement. (For a more detailed discussion on this issue, refer to the report on the European Communities.) Spain was obliged under its EC accession agreement to establish a formal system of import licenses and quotas to replace the structure of formal and informal import restrictions for industrial products existing prior to EC membership. The United States objected that the new import regime for non-EC products was illegal under GATT. In response to U.S. concerns, in October 1988 Spain instituted an automatic, computerized licensing system for Spanish imports of the affected U.S.-origin products. Since the system became effective, few U.S. exporters have reported market access impediments to their products covered under the automatic approval system. 4. Debt Management Policies Spain's external debt (both public and private) totaled $32.7 billion in December 1989. International reserves were $44.4 billion. With the low level of debt relative to exports, Spain should have no difficulty servicing its debt. Spain is also a significant creditor (over $10 billion) to high debt developing countries. Spain has worked within the Paris Club to reschedule debt and has given special focus to the needs of Latin American debtors. 5. Significant Barriers to U.S. Exports Import restrictions: Spain prohibits the importation of U.S. produce, notably fresh apples, cherries, avocados and grapefruit, based on plant protection arguments. While other EC countries permit imports from the United States of these fruits, the Spanish have not indicated any willingness to change their regulations to bring them in line with EC-wide policy until Spain is fully integrated into the EC. The target date for revising plant protection regulations is 1992 or beyond. Processed food standards: Unreasonably strict regulations on processed food imports constitute an import barrier. Spanish regulations prohibit importation of processed food products for which the government of Spain has not approved prior to customs clearance ingredients, additives (including colorings and flavorings) and labels. Thus, food products must conform to Spanish standards and be - |