Freer trade promised in next century

Sat, 14 Dec 1996, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

By Riyadi

SINGAPORE (JP): Trade ministers from 128 countries yesterday
settled contentious issues at the closing of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) ministerial conference and adopted sweeping
measures to develop freer international trade in the 21st
century.

"In all respects, this first WTO ministerial conference has
broken new ground," Singapore Trade Minister and conference
chairman Yeo Cheow Tong said at the closing of the intense week-
long round-the-clock negotiations.

WTO Director General Renato Rugiero said the results would
strengthen the WTO's credibility as the custodian of multilateral
trade.

Indonesian Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo said
the meeting had accommodated all nations' concerns.

Tunky said investment, competition policy, government
procurement and core labor standards had proved divisive.

Ministers from 128 countries settled these issues and produced
a declaration, Tunky said.

The ministers agreed to establish a working group to examine
the relationship between trade and investment and a working group
to study the relationship between trade and competition policy.

Minister Tunky said these studies would not lead to WTO
negotiations. All member countries should be notified on any move
toward negotiations on these issues.

On core labor standards, the ministers renewed their
commitment to observe internationally recognized core labor
standards. But they maintained the International Labor
Organization should oversee them.

They rejected the use of labor standards for protectionism and
agreed low-wage countries' comparative advantage must not be
questioned.

Minister Yeo told the final plenary session: "Some delegations
had expressed a concern that this text (on labor standards) may
lead to the WTO to acquire a competence to undertake further work
in the relationship between trade and core labor standards.

"I want to assure these delegations that this text will not
permit such a development."

Acting U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said the
Singapore declaration represented her country's interests,
especially on core labor standards.

Labor standards was the last point included in the
declaration. The U.S. fought hard to include labor standards in
the declaration. This kept negotiators up all night.

Besides dealing with contentious issues, the Singapore
declaration addressed the problem of poor countries being
marginalized and promised help including duty-free access to some
major countries to help integrate them in the world trade system.

It endorsed a ground-breaking Information Technology Agreement
(ITA) which scraps tariffs on the rapidly growing information
technology product market worth US$600 billion last year.

It encompasses textile and clothing which had become the
central interest point for many developing countries at the
conference, including Indonesia.

M. Manimaren of the Texmaco group of textile companies, who
assisted Minister Tunky in the negotiations on textile and
clothing, said textile exporting countries were relieved their
concerns were accommodated.

The eight-page declaration forms a blueprint for the WTO's
future agenda which is to liberalize trade. The trade ministers
noted in the declaration that negotiations in areas where
agreements were not reached, especially the services sectors,
should begin by Jan. 1, 2000.

Unresolved issues include basic telecommunications, financial
services, maritime transport services and professional services.

The trade ministers committed themselves to achieving a
successful conclusion to negotiations on basic telecommunications
in February, 1997.

They were also committed to resuming financial services
negotiations in April 1997 and completing the work on the
accountancy sector by the end of 1997.

Commenting on the Singapore conference, Australian Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Tim Fischer said: "The
Singapore conference has been a case of five days of hard effort
delivering five years and more of progress toward a new
millennium of free world trade."

The next WTO ministerial conference will be in Geneva in 1998.
(rid)