WORKING PARTY SET UP ON SAUDI ACCESSION REQUEST

6:48 AM Jul 22, 1993

WORKING PARTY SET UP ON SAUDI ACCESSION REQUEST
Geneva 21 July (TWN) -- The GATT Council set up Wednesday a working party to look into the request of Saudi Arabia for access to GATT.

This is the normal practice for all new applicants to enable the trade regime and its conformity with the GATT to be looked into. On the basis of this, the working party will draw up a protocol of accession and, parallel to this, the applicant has to negotiate with individual cps exchange of concessions.

When these are completed, the working party's report will be considered by the GATT Council and sent for a vote. The entire process could take about a year or more, even with the best intentions, and the degree of support evidenced in the Council interventions, a GATT source said.

In presenting its application, Saudi Arabia stressed that it had been an observer at the GATT from 1985, had the "most open" trade regime, with no quantitative restrictions except for religious grounds, and with very low customs duties.

So far, only Kuwait from the Gulf region is a GATT contracting party, having become a member in 1963, soon after independence, by following the route provided in the GATT for former colonies of metropolitan powers who are already GATT cps, and to which GATT applied before independence, namely, by notifying the GATT Director-General.

Three Gulf States -- Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates -- as former british colonies or dependencies could use this route to quickly become members.

In other actions, the Council heard a complaint from Canada over the US Agricultural Export Enhancement Programme and the targeted programme of the US for subsidised exports to Mexico, an important Canadian market. The issue of the US programmes has been before the Council since September, when Australia had raised it and the then Council chairman undertook informal consultations.

The US said the action was intended as a "strong message" to the EC and other producers to encourage movement towards concluding the Uruguay Round agreement. The EC for its part suggested that Canada was sitting in a glass house (the US Congress has already demanded that Canada should stop subsidies to its wheat exports to Mexico as part of a deal for the entry into force of NAFTA) and should not throw stones at others. Australia reiterated its overall complaint against both US and EC and the Chairman agreed to renew the informal consultations to find a solution to the problem.

In another area, Singapore complained on behalf of the Asean countries over the EC restrictions imposed since January 1993. The EC has replaced the restrictions in some of its member-states on imports of preserved sardines and tuna with an EC wide regime. Singapore complained that this was a unilateral restriction and was unfair. The Asean have sought consultations with the EC and it is in progress. Singapore said the Asean were not now seeking any panel but hoped that the EC would resolve the problem.

In the apples and pears case, a Chilean complaint over EC restrictions on imports, the issue has been figuring on the Council agenda for some time -- first over the EC's socalled surveillance of imports and then of restrictions and agreement sought from Chile in terms of prices. Chile had sought Art XXIII consultations, which are now being held.

But in raising and maintaining its complaint, Chile made clear that if the problem was not resolved in consultations, it would press its request for adjudication at the next GATT Council meeting.

In other actions, GATT Director-General Peter Sutherland in a statement advised the Council of his appointment of three deputies: Anwar-ul Hoda from India, Warren Lavorel from United States and Jesus Seade from Mexico. While he had already announced last week these appointments, in terms of the 1987 decision of GATT CPs, they become effective only after notification to the GATT Council.