WORLD TRADE WT/GC(97)/ST/9
19December 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5639)
Original: Spanish General Council
10December 1997
COLOMBIA
Statement byH.E. Mr.Néstor Osorio Londoño,
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
AsItakethefloortothank theDirector-General fortheexcellent annual report hehassubmitted
ondevelopments ininternational trade, andtheChairman oftheTrade Policy Review Body forhis
introduction andviews, Ishould alsoliketoexpress myfrustration atseeing suchanimportant topic
taken upinthisCouncil attheclose ofthismeeting andwithsuchpoorattendance. Thedelegations
thatpreceded meintaking thefloor havemade veryinteresting analyses andcomments which, like
theDirector-General 'sreport, deserve ourattention anddueconsideration.
Mydelegation hasprepared ananalytical document, butIthink itwould bepointless toread
itoutnow: Iwilltherefore transmit ittotheSecretariat forcirculation.1
Ifinditinconceivable thataninstitution thatisresponsible formanaging themultilateral trading
system should undertake ananalysis ofrecent developments ininternational trade, theactivities ofthe
WTO andtheroleitshould playinfuture, inasuperficial manner andwithbarely ascore ofitsmembers
present. Itherefore respectfully suggest thataspecial meeting oftheCouncil beconvened inearly
1998 atwhich wecancarry outathorough analysis ofthetrends andprospects ofinternational trade
andtheimpact andinfluence oftheWTO Agreements.
1SeeAnnex.WT/GC(97)/ST/9
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ANNEX
Comments byAmbassador Néstor Osorio Londoño, Permanent Representative,
ontheAnnual Report for1997 bytheDirector-General
Pursuant tohismandate under theWTO Agreements, theDirector-General hasprepared a
hefty report covering issues relating tothestateofandrecent developments inworld trade, thetrade
policies ofmember States andtheirtrends, andtheactivities oftheWTO. Thisisaverycomplete
andwell-documented analysis which sheds agreatdealoflightonthesubject, anditreveals thevigorous
growth ofinternational tradesince theconclusion oftheUruguay Round andthecoming oftheWorld
Trade Organization.
From theinstitutional standpoint, there isaclear strengthening oftheWTO astheguiding
bodyoftheworld trading system, andthedispute supervision andsettlement mechanisms haveclearly
worked well. Inthiscontext, theglobalization process hasadvanced steadily, andthegrowth rate
ofworld trade inthisdecade sofarishigher thanthatrecorded inthe1980s. Itisalsostriking that
while world trade ingoods expanded by5percentin1996, world output increased byonly2.5per
cent, bearing outtheprogress ofglobalization.
Inthesecircumstances, themultilateral trading system mustbehave insuchawayastopreserve
theprinciples thatensure abalance between Members 'rights andobligations.
Hence, itisnecessary toensure thattheUruguay Round Agreements areimplemented properly
andinatimely manner, ashasbeenthecaseinrecent years. Inaddition, work must goahead on
the"built-in agenda" items, which willcertainly callformajor efforts andresources from member
countries. Each ofthetopics included inthebuilt-in agenda isimportant initself, andtheymustall
receive thesame attention.
Another tasktobeundertaken isthatofimproving market access conditions fortraditional
sectors, including agricultural products, textiles andclothing, leather, fruit, vegetable products and
others. AstheDirector-General rightly indicates inparagraph 14ofhisreport, forthese products,
which areofparticular interest todeveloping countries, hightariffs andtariff escalation continue to
hinder theiraccess tovarious markets.
Thenegotiations scheduled fortheagricultural sector aretherefore ofparticular importance,
astheyaredesigned toachieve theobjective ofgreater liberalization ofagriculture through the
elimination ofprotection andsupport thatdistort agricultural trade. Asisclearfromthefirstoverall
review oftheimplementation oftheTextiles Agreement, theprogressive liberalization andintegration
provided forintheAgreement havenotbecome areality andexporting developing countries feela
great frustration. Thisisanareathatdeserves constant attention.
TheNegotiations onBasic Telecommunications andtheAgreement onInformation Technology
wererecently successfully completed, andeverything suggests thatthiswillalsobetrueinfinancial
services. Thediscussions andnegotiations ontraditional products should beundertaken likewise and
inthesame spirit, bearing verymuch inmind theconditions andinterests ofdeveloping countries.
Another major commitment isthestrengthening oftheWTO dispute settlement system. All
sortsofcases havebeenraised sofar,andtheyhavebeensettled seriously andimpartially. In1998
there willbeafirstreview ofthefunctioning ofthesystem, which willprovide anopportunity for
making some adjustments toimprove andguarantee itsefficiency andimpartiality, while facilitating
theuseofthedispute settlement mechanisms bydeveloping andleastdeveloped countries, whose lackWT/GC(97)/ST/9
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ofresources mayhinder theirexercise ofthese rights. Theprompt andcorrect implementation ofthe
decisions oftheDispute Settlement Body isthekeystone ofthesurvival ofthesystem.
Finally, weshould mention other items ofparticular importance, suchasthose dealtwithby
theCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements toensure thatregional agreements arecompatible with
themultilateral system, oractivities innewareas, particularly thoseconcerning therelationship between
trade andinvestment andtrade andcompetition policy.
Colombia hascontributed totheinstitutional development oftheGATT andtheWTO andis
committed tothedefence andproper functioning ofthemultilateral trading system. Wefirmly intend
tocontinue toplayanactive partincarrying outtheabove-mentioned tasks.
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