Freer trade promised in next century
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)
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