WORLD TRADE WT/GC(97)/ST/3
19December 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5619)
Original: Spanish General Council
10December 1997
ARGENTINA
Statement byH.E. Mr.JuanSánchez Arnau
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
Iwelcome theadvance copyoftheAnnual Report oftheWTO, which provides thebasis for
discussion onthisagenda item. Onesection ofthisReport refers tothe"prospects for1997" andit
would beuseful ifthissection oftheReport could becirculated during thefirsthalfoftheyearand
notwhen theyearisending.
Nevertheless, theadvance copyoftheAnnual Report contains anumber ofelements onwhich
wewould liketocomment.
Regarding thetrends inworld trade, thesustained growth ofworld trade continued in1996
andglobal GDP onceagain doubled (5percentcompared with2.5percent). Thisfigure reaffirms
thetrend inprevious years andcanbeexplained toalarge degree bytheongoing trade liberalization
process, andweshould welcome this.
Inthisconnection, weshould liketohighlight Latin America 'scontribution tothisgrowth in
trade ingoods withanincrease of11percent,which iswayabove theglobal average. Theincrease
intrade inservices inLatin America wasalsotwice theworld average inthissector.
Weshould liketoemphasize thatthegrowth inMERCOSUR 'sglobal trade isduetoalarge
extent tothesignificant increase inimports fromoutside thezone. Fortheperiod 1990-96, theannual
growth inimports among member countries was26percentandtheannual increase intotalimports
was20percent. Weshould liketopoint tothecaseofArgentina, where imports overthesameperiod
1990-96 increased by34percentannually, thehighest figure among Member countries oftheWTO.
Thisincrease istheresult oftheopening upoftheArgentine economy andthemarked increase in
domestic andforeign investment, which inturnledtoarapid increase inimports ofcapital goods and
industrial inputs.
Moreover,theSecretariat'sReportonceagainshowsthat,asinpreviousyears,themostprotected
sectors continued tobethose ofconcern todeveloping countries suchasthetextiles andagricultural
sectors, which aresubject tothehighest tariffs, thegreatest tariff escalation andthemost important
trade distortions.
Regarding theWTO 'sactivities, weshould liketodraw attention tofourelements which we
believe areimportant forthisstudy:
./.WT/GC(97)/ST/3
Page2
- Thefirstwasthesuccessful outcome ofthenegotiations onbasic telecommunications
inFebruary, (unfortunately, because oftheshort timeavailable, many Members have
notyetcompleted theinternal processes forapproval ofthisAgreement).
- Thesecond istheintensive usemade oftheWTO dispute settlement mechanism, a
positivetrendwhichshouldhelptoremovetheriskofapplicationorthreatofapplication
ofunilateral measures.
- Thethird isthecommencement ofwork oninvestment, competition policies and
transparency ingovernment procurement, afterthelongdiscussions wehadlastyear,
asaresult ofthedecisions taken attheMinisterial Conference inSingapore. Intime,
thiswork willprovide abetter basis forthedecisions wehavetotakeonthepossible
needtonegotiate additional disciplines within theWTO.
- Thefourth, andbynomeans theleastimportant, wastheinitiation oftheAnalysis
andInformation Exchange Process intheCommittee onAgriculture, which willallow
Members reasonable timetoprepare forthenegotiations tobelaunched attheendof
1999.
Looking tothefuture, wewould liketostateourconviction thatitisnecessary tomaintain
themomentum inthegeneral trend towards theliberalization ofinternational trade andtoavoid the
growing pressures weareseeing onthepartofsome ofthemajor trading powers thatseektoslow
down thistrend. Protectionism cannot resolve either theunemployment issueorthefinancial problems
thatcertain countries mayface.
Weshould alsoliketostateherethatweconsider thatthistrade liberalization process may
come toahaltinthenearfuture ifitcontinues tobebased exclusively onsectoral negotiations. We
haveapromising built-in agenda andother measures thatpoint inthesame direction, butitwillbe
difficult forthese toprovide theresults expected intrade liberalization ifwecannot include them in
asingle undertaking thatwillallow usallasMembers tomake thegreatest possible contribution to
theprocess, which isworth itforthebenefits which every Member willbeabletoderive from the
negotiations asawhole.