Trade ministers of APEC to discuss new GATT here

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)