WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/100
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5296)
Original: Spanish MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
VENEZUELA
Statement byH.E. Mr.Werner Corrales Leal
Permanent Representative totheUnited Nations and
Other International Organizations
Onbehalf oftheGovernment ofVenezuela Ishould liketoconvey mydelegation 'ssincere
gratitude forthegenerous hospitality ofthepeople andGovernment ofSingapore. Ishould alsolike
toexpress ourappreciation fortheefficient organization ofthisMinisterial Conference.
OurexpectationsforthisfirstConferencefocusedontheassessmentoftheoverallimplementation
oftheAgreements reached inMarrakesh in1994. Accordingly, wethink itfitting toshare briefly
withyouthree reflections about theachievements andendeavours ofthefirsttwoyears oftheWTO.
Thefirstrelates tothemajor effort thathasproved necessary andthatwehaveundertaken
tofulfil thecommitments stemming fromouraccession totheWorld Trade Organization. Thework
ofadjusting ourlegalframework hasbeenarduous andcomplex, andtheadministrative burden inregard
tonotifications hasbeennolesssubstantial.
Thesecond,moresubstantive,pointisthehighvalueweplaceontheimprovementinthedispute
settlement system. Thisweseeasoneofthemajor achievements ofthefirsttwoyears ofthe
Organization 'sexistence.
Asiswellknown, inJanuary 1995Venezuela made useofthenewprovisions andprocedures
inthisareaand,tooursatisfaction, thebodies which examined thegasoline claim agreed withour
legalarguments. Thislednotonlytotherestoration ofVenezuela 'srights butalsohighlighted the
factthattheWTO-agreed multilateral rulesprovide theMember countries withimpartial mechanisms
whereby theirdisputes canbeclarified andresolved satisfactorily. Nevertheless, weshould bearin
mind thatthesuccess ofadispute settlement mechanism isconfirmed when thedecisions adopted are
effectively acted on.
Thirdly, itisimportant toexpress ourconcern about whatweregard assigns oftheemergence
ofnewtrade restriction measures which affect theactual capacity ofdeveloping countries topenetrate
major international markets. Inthisregard, itissignificant thattheapplication ofsome
WTO Agreements hasalready runintoserious problems between opposing groups ofMembers because
theimplementation ofcommitments hasnotbeenuptocertain expectations andaspirations. Thisis
thecase, forexample, inagriculture andtextiles.
After theWTO 'sfirsttwoyears, aswesaidearlier, thisMinisterial Conference provided an
opportunity tomake adetailed assessment oftheimplementation ofthevarious agreements, witha
viewtostrengthening achievements andintroducing remedies fordeviations andshortcomings. The
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Conference 'sactivities, however, havetaken adifferent direction andwehaveconcentrated ourefforts
ondiscussing newproposals. They meetthelegitimate concern ofsome Members oftheOrganization
andwarrant aconceptual pronouncement onourpart.
Withregard totheissueofcorelabour standards, Venezuela reiterates itsrecognition offreedom
ofassociation andtherighttocollective bargaining, aswellasitsrejection offorced labour, exploitation
ofchild labour andanykindofjobdiscrimination.
Ourcountry 'slegalandeconomic history has,formore than50years, beenoneofgrowing
achievements inlabour rights, which ithasconsolidated andwillcontinue totakefurther, bothinthe
modernization ofitsowninstitutions andinitsinternational participation intheagreements, agencies
andforums suited tothismatter, suchastheILO.
Venezuela recognizes thattheWTO caninfactcontribute tothepractical extension ofthese
rights, bytrade liberalization andtheresulting economic growth. Butitdoes notaccept that
WTO Agreements andparticularly traderestriction measures should beusedastoolstoenforce labour
standards orchallenge comparative advantages insome developing economies.
Accordingly, Venezuela considers thattheILOisthenatural forum andshould stillbethe
firstplace toexamine therelationship between trade andlabour standards.
Thelinkbetween tradeandinvestment ismore complex thanjustacontribution byinvestment
toexpanding theproduction baseandexport capacity ofdeveloping countries. Therefore, Venezuela
stands ready toparticipate within theWTO framework inananalysis togainabetter understanding
ofthatrelationship. What ismore, weconsider thattheanalysis should beaimed atclarifying the
mostappropriate ways ofensuring astable flowofinvestment fortransforming theproduction ofour
countries inorder toenhance theirtrade andfoster theirdevelopment. Hence, wemustbearinmind
andpromote close cooperation withthework being donebyUNCTAD, aninstitution thatnotonly
hasthecapacity andtheexperience forsuchstudies butisalsoanintergovernmental forum ofgreat
political value. Development hasadimension toitthatisbroader thanthetrade ortheeconomic
dimension.
Wehaveasimilar comment ontheissue ofcompetition policies. Inthiscase, wewould
emphasize theneedforWTO studies tobeconducted incooperation withUNCTAD andtocover the
interaction between competition policies andtrade.
Toconclude these remarks onthenewissues, Venezuela isoftheviewthattheOrganization 's
future work should notbeoverburdened withnegotiation obligations other thanthose contained inthe
built-in agenda. Wefeelthatitisnotinkeeping withthepriorities ofexpanding tradeandconsolidating
theWTO totakeupnegotiations onthese issues inthenearfuture andthatthedecisions ofthis
Conference should notcommit ustomoving along thatpath.
AsaMember, Venezuela hasparticipated resolutely andresponsibly intheWTO, because
itisoftheview thatthemultilateral trading system affords thebestlegal guarantee forfacing the
challenges andtaking uptheopportunities thatemerged from theUruguay Round andbecause, like
many otherMembers, mycountry seestheliberalization ofinternational tradeasafactor thatisessential
toeconomic growth, jobcreation andthewelfare ofpeoples.