GATT promises better dispute settlement

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)