RI urges Third World countries to improve ties

RI urges Third World countries to improve ties

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has urged fellow developing countries to strengthen their trade ties in the face of new attempts by rich industrialized countries to attach labor and other social clauses to their trade relationships.

Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief said, in his speech before the current meeting of labor ministers from Non-Aligned Movement in New Delhi, that these conditionalities were imposed by industrialized countries to protect their own markets and workers.

"Non-aligned and other developing countries should cooperate to increase trade and technical assistance among themselves. If we are all considered as one market, then we have great marketing potential," Latief said. Latief's speech was made available by his Jakarta office yesterday.

The three-day meeting was opened by Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on Friday. President Soeharto also addressed the meeting in his capacity as chairman of the 111-nation movement.

Soeharto, in his speech read by Latief, urged all developing countries to improve the quality of their human resources in facing the fast global changes. He also asked developing countries to intensify dialogs with developed countries to create a new and fair international trade order.

Latief said that as the trade potentials of developing countries further improved they could speed up their development and increase their people's income and purchasing power.

Developing countries will have no difficulties in steering their economic developments because they have natural resources that can be exploited, he said.

Cooperation in trade between developing countries is necessary to face the new veiled protectionist barriers now being raised by industrialized countries, he said.

"Up to the present time, as developed countries have not been able to provide the evidence of their steps taken to reduce protectionism, we consider that their policy is still to intensify protectionism against developing countries," he said.

The rich industrialized countries succeeded in inserting the labor clause into the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), compelling countries to abide by certain labor codes.

Western countries are also vigorously campaigning for the eco- labeling system, subjecting imports to stringent environmental requirements.

Weapon

Latief cited the international industrial standardization, known as ISO-9000, as one weapon being used by industrialized countries to deny developing countries access to their markets.

He said that this form of protectionism is not likely to last long because the same measure is driving their own investors away and into developing countries.

Trade unions in developed countries are under an illusion that imposing the social clause would protect their industry and jobs. "Investors are preferring to invest in developing countries rather than developed ones because of relatively low costs in developing countries," he said.

The minister also urged the developing countries to enhance cooperation in all fields, to let them develop their own national economy.

Citing, for example, Indonesia and India could exchange information and experience in the aircraft industry and land transportation. (rms)