U.S., Japan and S. Korea told to ratify GATT

U.S., Japan and S. Korea told to ratify GATT

JAKARTA (JP): The United States, Japan and South Korea have to
give commitments ratifying the Uruguay Round before attending the
second summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
leadership meeting in Bogor in November, economist Mari Pangestu
said here yesterday.

"Otherwise, their participation in APEC will only create a big
question mark," Mari told journalists after attending a seminar
on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) held by the
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

She said if the three countries are not willing to give strong
signals ratifying GATT, it will create the wrong perception of
APEC as a forum not supporting GATT.

"APEC seems to be a bloc rather than supporting multilateral
trade. It's dangerous because the original aim of APEC is to
foster multilateral trade, not to create a free trade bloc," Mari
said.

Some countries, especially Australia and New Zealand, have
hinted of making APEC into an institution. "But, we don't want
the institutionalization of APEC."

Next month, trade ministers of APEC countries will convene in
Yogyakarta. "Hopefully, there will be a commitment from the three
countries on GATT ratification. It's important for them to show
strong signals."

Speaking at the discussion, Yorizumi Watanabe, a professor at
the Nanzan University of Japan, noted that Japan is likely to
ratify the GATT agreement by the end of this year.

He said that Japan truly realizes the importance of ratifying
GATT, as without its full participation, the multilateral trade
system will be at stake.

"Since the very beginning, Japan has been active in GATT
negotiations. And Japan, for instance, has offered more than 100
sectors of services for deliberation, in the role of Japan's so-
called initial commitment," Watanabe noted.

Disputes

Japan has also been active in the area of anti-dumping and
dispute settlement procedures as East Asia nations have been the
main target of dumping investigations.

Of 1,328 investigations in the period of 1985 to 1992, 439
were targeted at East Asian countries and Japan had the highest
number at 105 cases, while Indonesia experienced only nine cases.

Besides dumping accusations, East Asian nations have also been
the main target of various forms of contingency protections or
unilateral actions by the main traders, mainly the European Union
and the United States.

In 1992 alone, 95 percent of all voluntary export restrains
outside textiles and agriculture were concluded by East Asian
countries, or 75 out of the 79 cases.

"Therefore, the new agreement (GATT 1994) will produce better
trading environment for East Asian traders, including Japan,
South Korea, Taiwan and others as it eliminates protectionism
which hinders trade efficiency and consumers' welfare," Watanabe
said.

However, he warned that a multilateral trade agreement of GATT
could easily be eroded by unilateral actions or by the increasing
number of investigations on dumping practices.

As East Asian countries have been the main target of
investigations and protectionism, Watanabe suggested that
countries in this area should take a more active role in GATT
negotiations, especially in environmental and labor issues.

"We have to take part, giving opinions, lobbying and so forth
on what becomes the concern of developing countries, so that it
is not only developed countries which decide the common sets of
policies on environment and labor issues, but also developing
countries," Watanabe said. (rid)