Trade ministers of APEC to discuss new GATT here

JAKARTA (JP): Ministers responsible for trade in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will meet here on Thursday to discuss the implementation of the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Director of Foreign Trade Hartanto Reksodipoetro told journalists yesterday that the ministerial meeting is especially important because it is held amid the United States' uncertainty about ratifying the new trade treaty.

"Although the Final Act of the GATT was signed last April and will come into affect early next year, some countries -- to some extent -- will still think twice about its implementation, when economically strong countries, like the United States, Japan and South Korea, fail to ratify the Act on time," Hartanto said in a press conference.

As reported last week, the U.S. senate leaders have agreed to postpone their vote on the GATT until early December because they were unable to persuade South Carolina Senator Ernest Hollings to end delaying tactics, blocking pre-election debate on the measures.

The deadline for ratifying the GATT agreement is Dec. 31 this year.

Many economists have said that without the participation of economically strong countries, especially the United States and Japan, the fate of the GATT, which will be administered by the World Trade Organization early next year, will be at stake.

"Without them the GATT will be nothing. And therefore, we hope that by this APEC trade ministerial meeting, the United States, Japan and South Korea will be more committed to ratifying it in time," Hartanto said.

Hartanto, who is also the deputy chairman of the meeting's steering committee, noted that ratification is likely to be brought up in the meeting by South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Chulsu.

Example

Hartanto said APEC should set an example to the rest of the world and prove that this consultative trade grouping is consistent with GATT principles.

APEC currently groups 17 countries in the Asia- Pacific region, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei.

Chile, which will be entitled to become a full member of APEC in the coming summit in Bogor, West Java, next month, will participate in the ministerial meeting. Chile's delegation will be led by Minister of Trade Alvaro Garcia.

The director general said the Canadian Minister for International Trade, Roy MacLaren, will present and analyze the results of negotiations on the GATT, which was signed in Marrakesh last April.

In addition to GATT issues, the ministerial meeting will also discuss trade liberalization in the region and in the world. The session will be chaired by the Australian Minister of Trade, Senator Bob McMullan.

The meeting will also discuss the possible acceleration of trade and investment facilitation among APEC members to increase trade and the flow of investments in the region. The session on this will be presided over by a U.S. trade official.

The U.S. embassy announced here yesterday that Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky will replace U.S. Trade Representative Michael Kantor in the APEC trade ministerial meeting.

Kantor will remain in Washington for a crucial vote in the House of Representatives on the implementation of the Uruguay Round of trade talks on Wednesday and Thursday, the same days as the APEC meeting, the embassy said. (rid)