RI wants fair game at WTO

RI wants fair game at WTO

By Riyadi

SINGAPORE (JP): Indonesia is urging the inaugural World Trade
Organization (WTO) ministerial conference here to establish level
playing fields, review the implementation of commitments by
member states and resume negotiations on unfinished business.

Speaking at the opening of the inaugural WTO conference
yesterday, Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo said
Indonesia would continue to resist efforts by developed countries
to link trade with domestic competition policy.

"We are of the view that discussions on this issue in the WTO
should be focused on the international aspects of competition
such as the so-called restrictive business practices and the
malpractice of antidumping rather than competition laws and
policies applied at national level," Tunky said.

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong officially opened the
WTO ministerial conference, which is being dogged by divisive
issues.

Tunky stressed in his plenary statement that Indonesia was
concerned by the many antidumping investigations that had been
conducted against developing countries.

Indonesia was also concerned about the proliferation of
safeguard actions by some developed countries that had
accompanied the implementation of the agreement on textiles and
clothing, he added.

"Our experience has shown continuing difficulties in market
access. Besides, we also note with concern the emerging symptom
of marginalization, especially among the least-developed
countries, as well as the diminishing attention to the
development dimension," he said.

The minister argued that developed countries should not
inhibit the economic development of developing countries by
demanding too much of them.

Developing countries face many hurdles in implementing the
Uruguay Round of tariff-reduction agreements, especially on
services, intellectual property rights, investment measures and
other complex areas.

"To ensure the full and effective implementation of the
Uruguay Round commitment by all, there is an urgent need to
intensify technical assistance to developing countries with the
view to facilitating the fulfillment of their commitments," Tunky
said.

He said Indonesia supported efforts to conclude negotiations
on services sectors, which were built into the WTO's agenda. And
that Indonesia was reviewing its appropriate degree of
commitments.

"With regards to the built-in agenda, my delegation is
prepared to endorse the relevant conclusions and recommendations
of the various bodies," Tunky said.

In his opening speech, Prime Minister Goh Chok called on
member countries to pursue sustained efforts to settle looming
contentious issues such as labor standards and a multilateral
investment treaty.

"It is clear that low labor costs are a legitimate
comparative advantage for developing countries, and that labor
standards should not be used as disguised protectionist
measures," Goh said.

On investment, Goh said no one disputed the link between trade
and investment, but there was no agreement on when and how best
to address the issue within the WTO.

He suggested that developing economies be given time to adjust
to the changes brought about by the Uruguay Round in terms of
rules and the pressure of market opening measures.

He said the WTO should not be unnecessarily distracted from
its central goal of promoting and safeguarding the multilateral
free trade regime.

"If protectionist and insular sentiments surface and roll
back the significant gains the WTO has achieved, then global
economic prospects for the future will become dimmer, instead of
brighter," Goh said.

In his report to the meeting, WTO Director General Renato
Ruggiero stressed that world trade had increased massively
because of falling trade and investment barriers.

World trade has grown 10 percent yearly on average from US$50
billion in 1947 -- the birth of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (WTO's predecessor) -- to US$5.6 trillion in 1995.

This expansion has driven growth in both the developed and
developing countries. Developing countries grew more than 4
percent annually on average over the last thirty years, and are
expected to grow at an even higher rate of 5.2 percent in the
next decade.

The Uruguay Round agreements, the basis of the WTO, are
estimated to potentially increase global income by US$500 billion
by 2005.

The WTO has 125 members; and by Dec. 13, it will have 128
members with Bulgaria, Cameron and Niger as its newest members.
About 30 other countries are applying for WTO membership,
including major economic players like China and Russia.

Goh suggested that WTO should look at reasonable ways to
expedite accession applications so that countries aspiring to
become members did not have to wait too long.
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