WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/28
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2015)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
LATVIA
Statement Circulated byMr.Valdis Birkavs,
Minister forForeign Affairs
(AsAnObserver)
Allow meonbehalf oftheGovernment oftheRepublic ofLatvia toexpress mygreatpleasure
andhighappreciation forhaving thisopportunity toaddress theSecond Ministerial Conference ofthe
WTO heldinitshead-quarters inGeneva, Switzerland.
TheRepublic ofLatvia, currently having anobserver status intheWTO, since 1993hasbeen
devoted totheprocess ofaccession totheGATT atthattime, andsince theestablishment oftheWTO
in1995 wehavestriven tojointhismultilateral trading system ofaninevitably andsteadily growing
importance.
TheGovernment oftheRepublic ofLatvia attaches thegreatest importance tothecompletion
ofouraccession negotiations andobtaining astatus offullmembership which weconsider asalogical
wayofprogressive andeffective integration oftheRepublic ofLatvia intotheglobal trading system.
Webelieve thattheuniversal nature oftheWTO ensures ourparticipation inanopen, fair,rule-based
anddynamic trade system, leading tothegrowth oftheworld trade andinvestment thuscreating
possibilities fornewjobs.
Since regaining ofourindependence, theGovernment oftheRepublic ofLatvia haslaunched
aprofound andcomprehensive reform package inorder toestablish aneconomic system fullybased
ontheprinciples ofmarket economy. Ourtrade policy objectives arebased onaliberal trade regime
fortrade ingoods andservices, andnowwhen Latvia hasentered intothefinalstage ofouraccession
totheWTO, thehighquality ofourmarket access commitments hasbeenrecognized bymostofthe
WTO Members.
Inouraccession negotiations totheWTO, theRepublic ofLatvia hascommitted itself tothe
implementation ofalltheWTO obligations uponaccession without arecourse toanytransitional period.
Moreover, wehavetaken certain significant WTO pluscommitments. Although notaWTO Member
yet,wehighly respect WTO rulesandregulations, andtheirabsolute majority already nowconstitutes
anintegral partofourlegislation. Theconsequences arising fromtheaccession process andapotential
membership intheWTO haveverypositively influenced andevenaccelerated thewhole reform process
inLatvia.
Concerning market access fortrade ingoods theRepublic ofLatvia hasmetalltherequests
onalltariff lineswhich wereofWTO Members interest. Asregards Latvia ’scommitments fortrade
inservices, thesectoral coverage andquality ofourcommitments havebeenrecognized byalltheWTO
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Membersalthoughnegotiationshavenotbeencompletedyetintheaudio-visualservicessectorrecognized
asverysensitive forthemost ofWTO Members.
TheGovernment oftheRepublic ofLatvia remains convinced thatthecurrent results ofour
bilateral market access negotiations forbothgoods andservices represent genuinely openmarket access
situation andcreate averygood precedent fortheaccessions tofollow.
WebelievethattheMinisterialConferenceandthenextroundsoftradeliberalizationnegotiations
tofollow arethebestforum forfurthering progressive development oftheglobal trading system and
thebestplace fordiscussions thatwould increase Members ’understanding ofeachother andwould
provide foraprompt review oftheirownpolicies.
Inconclusion letmeconfirm oncemore thebelief ofourGovernment, thatevery country to
accede totheWTO willcontribute totheglobal anduniversal nature ofthisOrganization, byexpanding
theacceptance oftheWTO rules andproviding extensive market access commitments.
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