	canada s clark sees  as most urgent problem  is the most urgent problem facing u s canadian relations because of a pressing need to reach a new bilateral pact within the coming months joe clark canadian secretary of state for external affairs said negotiators for the two countries have been meeting for more than a year in an effort to work out an agreement the most urgent problem now is the  question because that has to be decided within the next months clark told the commonwealth club of california we have a fast track authority from your congress for approval or rejection of whatever the negotiators achieve clark said that as a practical matter an initial agreement must be reached by late september or early october he listed environmental questions particularly acid rain and defense as the second and third most important bilateral issues facing ottawa and washington on wednesday president reagan announced that he will seek billion dlrs from congress to address the acid rain problem some interpreted the move as a goodwill gesture in advance of his annual meeting on april in ottawa with prime minister brian mulroney in a question and answer session with the public affairs group clark said that the two countries must find better mechanisms for resolving their  disputes this rash of countervailing actions where we acted on corn and you acted on soft wood and we both said they were quasijudicial the dispute resolution mechanisims in place now are not working adequately in either of our interests he said ottawa also is seeking to change some of washington s rules on government procurement that penalize canadian businesses he said there are a number of canadian companies that in order to secure substantial contracts in the united states have had to move their head offices out of our country into your country because you have national procurement requirements he said in turn he added the united states would like to change some of the procurement requirements that exist at the provincial government level in canada clark declined to forecast the outcome of the discussions what will come out of it remains for the negotiators in the first instance to propose and then governments and congresses will have judge he said in his prepared remarks clark said that the united states has tended to take canada for granted although it exports to its northern neighbor more than twice what it exports to japan yet you bought almost per cent more from japan last year than you bought from canada he said reuter reuter 
