WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/14
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1981)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
BULGARIA
Statement circulated byMr.Valentin Vasilev,
Minister ofTrade andTourism
Ontheoccasion ofthesecond session oftheMinisterial Conference oftheWorld Trade
Organization andofthecommemoration ofthefiftieth anniversary ofthemultilateral trading system
Iwould liketoexpress, Mr.Chairman, thecommitment ofBulgaria totheobjectives andprinciples
oftheWorld Trade Organization andourdetermination tocontribute totheirimplementation andfurther
development. Bulgaria hasanopenandtradedependent economy andtherefore wevalue thecontribution
ofthemultilateral trading system totheexpansion ofworld trade, andtoeconomic growth and
employment.
Bulgaria attaches special importance totheimplementation ofitsobligations under theWTO
andbelieves thatthecredibility ofthemultilateral trading system andthebenefits which Members
derive from itwould beendangered unless allcommitments entered intoarefulfilled strictly andin
good faith.
Since Bulgaria 'saccession totheWTO oneandahalfyears ago,daysbefore theSingapore
Ministerial Conference, ourcountry hasgone through adifficult period offinancial, economic and
political crisis. Theresponses ofBulgaria 'sgovernment tothecrisis arebased onafirmcommitment
totheprocess ofeconomic reforms andtotheprinciples ofmarket economy, including theopenness
ofourmarket andthefulfilment ofourinternational obligations. Furthermore, although wehadonly
recently negotiated ouraccession totheWTO, wemade acontribution tothecurrent work ontrade
liberalization byparticipating inthenegotiations onbasictelecommunications andonfinancial services.
Inspiteofthedifficulties wefaceandinspiteofthecircumstance thatBulgaria joined theWTO without
availing itself ofthespecial conditions intheUruguay Round agreements forcountries intransition,
thegovernment ofBulgaria hasnotresorted toprotectionist measures, inconsistent withWTO rules.
Inparticular, wehavenotdeviated fromthecommitments andthetimetable forourbalance-of-payments
measure which wasnegotiated atourWTO accession andtheWTO Balance-of-Payments Committee
concluded thatBulgaria hasfulfilled itsobligations andthatitsmeasure isWTO consistent.
Webelievethatthesolutionstoeconomicdifficultiesshouldnotbesoughtthroughthewithdrawal
ofcommitments already entered intobutthrough adequate responses, consistent withtherulesofthe
multilateral trading system, including through additional opening ofmarkets andtheexpansion oftrade.
Ontheother hand, thecapacity ofthemultilateral trading system todealwiththechallenges itfaces
orwillfaceinthefuture should beenhanced, including through provision ofassistance tocountries
experiencing difficulties intheimplementation oftheircommitments.
./.WT/MIN(98)/ST/14
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Forthefuture work programme oftheWTO webelieve thatitisimportant toinitiate, asearly
aspossible, thepreparatory process foranewcomprehensive round ofmultilateral tradenegotiations,
tobelaunched in1999. Weareinterested infurther broad-based liberalization ofworld trade andas
asmall economy, highly dependent onitstrade, insuchanewround wewould aimatexpanding the
access forourproducts toforeign markets.
Inthecourse ofthefuture work ofWTO bodies, including inthereviews tobeundertaken
andthework onthebuilt-in agenda, wewould alsosupport anysteps which would strengthen the
rule-based character andtheinstitutions oftheWTO. Asasmall country weareinterested instrong
internationalstructuresforthemultilateraltradingsystem,includingeffectiveinstitutionsandprocedures
enhancing theruleoflawwithin thesystem.
Initsfuture work theWTO should aimatbecoming atrulyglobal anduniversal organization
through theaccession ofnewMembers. Many ofthecountries nowacceding totheWTO areimportant
trading partners ofBulgaria andtherefore westrongly support theirWTO accession. Forusitisessential
thattheybebrought assoonaspossible under WTO disciplines, oncommercially viable terms. With
thecountries which weretraditional trading partners ofBulgaria wewillbeseeking torestore andexpand
theaccess forourgoods totheirmarkets.
Animportant challenge tothefuture ofthemultilateral trading system istheneedtoensure
abalance oftheinterests ofallcountries andtheability ofthesystem toprovide benefits forall
participants, taking intoconsideration theirspecific needs. Onourpartwehaveshown ourreadiness
tomake acontribution totheefforts fortheliberalization ofworld trade. Inspiteofoureconomic
difficulties which haveanegative impact onourownlevelofdevelopment wehavecontinued togrant
duty-free treatment totheimports ofallgoods fromallleastdeveloped countries. We,therefore, support
thecallforopening upthemarkets forimports from these countries bygranting complete duty-free
treatment totheirgoods byallWTO Members.
Inconclusion, Mr.Chairman, Iwould liketoexpress Bulgaria 'sreadiness toparticipate in
thefurther work within theWTO bothontheissues initscurrent programme andonthepreparations
forafruitful thirdsession oftheMinisterial Conference andthestrengthening oftheinternational trading
system.
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