WORKING PARTY ON BULGARIA STILL NON-FUNCTIONAL.

Sep 26, 1988

WORKING PARTY ON BULGARIA STILL NON-FUNCTIONAL.

GENEVA, SEPTEMBER 22 (IFDA) -- The GATT Council was advised Thursday that the working party established by the council several months ago to look into Bulgaria’s request for accession to GATT had still not been able to begin functioning.

Consultations were still continuing on the terms of reference and the naming of a chairman for the working party.

GATT participants said that the terms of reference were pretty standard, and the real problem was with the U.S., which was holding up the naming of the chairman for the working party.

The sources noted that the latest U.S. trade law virtually made it obligatory for the U.S. President not to allow countries with state trading systems to join the GATT or for the U.S. to exclude them from application of GATT rights vis-à-vis the United States.