GATT promises better dispute settlement
JAKARTA (JP): The new principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which will take effect early next year, promise more hope for developing nations in negotiating trade disputes with industrial countries, Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto says.
"Developing countries have so far been in a weak bargaining position when facing industrial nations bilaterally or confronted by regional groups of industrial nations," Hartarto said at the second anniversary of the Economic & Business Review Indonesia newsweekly Tuesday evening.
He explained that developed nations prefer settling trade disputes with developing countries through bilateral negotiations, in which they have more bargaining power, rather than through multilateral means.
A number of developed countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, for instance, have suggested their intention that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum become a regional trade grouping.
Hartarto, however, stressed that APEC may not go beyond GATT principles. "Our focus (on the second APEC summit) will be on the expansion of regional trade and investment cooperation, which should be fully consistent with GATT."
Summit
Indonesia will host the second APEC summit in Bogor, West Java, in November, which will be preceded by meetings of senior officials and ministers. The first summit was conducted last November in Seattle, the United States.
Hartarto acknowledged that APEC will offer greater market opportunities for Indonesian products since almost 70 percent of Indonesian exports go to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Hartarto noted that GATT, despite its limitations by way of compromises and the inevitable difficult negotiations of interests, still offers the best basis for ensuring a fair global trading system.
"In this regard, developing countries should really rejoice since the completion of the Uruguay Round has removed lingering doubts about the future of the world trading system," the minister said.
The Uruguay Round, which was concluded by the signing of its acts by 125 countries in Marrakesh last April, is considered the most ambitious of the GATT negotiations because it tackled subjects which were not addressed at the previous rounds, including the seventh round in Tokyo. These subjects include trade-related intellectual property rights, trade-related investment measures and trade in services.
The most important part of the Uruguay Round is the agreement to form a new multilateral trade body, called the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will execute policies of global trade and be a forceful power in doing away with protectionism.
"It is extremely important to note that every GATT country should fully participate in the GATT negotiations while at the same time open its markets," Hartarto said. (rid)