Nov 29, 1985
LITTLE MOVEMENT IN GENERAL STATEMENTS.
GENEVA, NOVEMBER 27 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN)— On the third day of its 41st session, the GATT Contracting Parties heard over a score of general statements, with major protagonists virtually restating their positions for record and showing little movement on substance.-While almost everyone spoke of the need to set up a Preparatory Committee, there were a number of countries who underscored the importance of credible commitments on standstill and rollback.- Prem Kumar for India spoke again with scepticism about the outcome of a new round, pointing to the experience of the Tokyo Round, the circumvention and non-observance of GATT rules now being no more "temporary deviations" but a serious threat to the trading system.- In view of this, India argued for standstill commitments from highest levels of governments before the Preparatory Committee, for rollback and its time-frame to be negotiated and agreed within the Preparatory Committee and before the launch of the new round, and for highest priority on safeguards in the new round.- The view that the Preparatory Committee should have no preconditions and be able to discuss new issues was itself a "precondition", Prem Kumar declared.- GATT now had no jurisdiction on services, and such jurisdiction could be created only through an amendment.- And if till then the Contracting Parties themselves could not consider or decide on services, much less could a forum like the Preparatory Committee created by them, the Indian delegate added.- The Indian delegate specifically "rejected" the legal validity of the U.S. argument that anything that would advance the broad objectives of the preamble of GATT could be decided by the Contracting Parties under article XXVI and said if this were so GATT could also be discussing disarmament, which would release large resources for development, promote economic endeavour and raise standards of living of the peoples.- Brazil’s Paulo Nogueira Batista deplored the effort to make the new MTNs or event planning through the Preparatory Committee a panacea for all ills of the trading system, and said solutions lay in individual actions of the CPs.- Without naming the U.S., Batista suggested in the connection that in the "relaxed political environment" after the recent Geneva summit, the core question of budget balancing could become a less difficult task with positive repercussions for world economic relations.- Referring to the recent U.S. arguments for departing from consensus on the basis that countries like India and brazil opposing the U.S. moves accounted only "for a small share of world trade" Batista wondered whether proponents of this argument would accept majority rule even in cases where the minority would represent a larger share of world trade.- Referring also to the U.S. claims of support from a large number of GATT’s Third World membership on services, Batista said by the same logic (of share in world trade), the weight of the position of countries on new issues like services should be considered not only as a ratio of their share of world trade in goods, but also with due regard to the importance of the services sector in their economy.- Batista reiterated the position, which he underscored was shared by a large number of Third World countries, on specific individual commitments on standstill, on agreement within a Preparatory Committee on a programme and time-frame for rollback of illegal restrictions, for developing with highest priority in the new round a comprehensive agreement on safeguards, and agreement before negotiations a precise formula to govern the level of reciprocity to be expected from Third World Contracting Parties in any new negotiations.- Michael Smith of the U.S. said the CPs should establish a Preparatory Committee, without preconditions and without prejudging its work, so that it could get on with the task of preparing for negotiations leading to trade liberalisation and expansion.- The Preparatory Committee should consider all issues proposed for inclusion in a new round, determine the subject matter and organisational structure for the negotiations, and make recommendations.- Substantive work should continue in various GATT bodies on the GATT work programme, and this should be a means for assisting the Preparatory Committee in its work.- Kazimir Vidas of Yugoslavia that it could not agree on immediate and direct preparations for negotiations on services in GATT, all aspects including development aspects were studied in depth, and specific approaches elaborated for international regulation of services.- The Yugoslav delegate supported the need for standstill commitments before any negotiations are launched, time bound programme for rollback, priority to safeguards, and measures to ensure special and more favourable treatment to Third World countries.- Norway’s Martin Huslid, (speaking also for Finland, Iceland and Sweden) saw standstill as an important element to enhance credibility of the process of a new round.- While the Nordics saw multilateral action on services as clearly needed, it was a broad and heterogeneous field and negotiating objectives and modalities should first be developed, Huslid added.- Austria’s Georg Reisch while supporting the setting up of the Preparatory Committee, said it should aim at renewal of the standstill commitment to enhance credibility.- While GATT should not close its mind to new areas, and be prepared to see to what extent GATT rules could be applied, in Austria’s view the trade in services while deserving GATT attention had been "overrated in deliberations".- "It is evident that a lot of basic groundwork, in the first place has to be done, to clarify the issue, the scope and modalities as well as the rules to be applied", the Austrian delegate added.-