. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(99)/ST/70
1 December 1999
(99-5263)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Third Session
Seattle, 30 November - 3 December 1999Original:  English
LATVIA
Statement by Mr. M āris Riekstinš
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Allow me, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Latvia, to express my pleasure for
having this opportunity to address the Third Ministerial Conference of the WTO held in Seattle.
Since regaining independence in 1991, the Government of the Republic of Latvia has
undertaken a profound and comprehensive reform programme in order to establish a functioning
market economy, including a liberal and rules-based trade policy.
As a result of intensive work internally and with our trading partners, on 10 February this year
Latvia became the first Baltic State to obtain full membership in the WTO.
We would like to thank the WTO Members for their cooperation and assistance during the
accession process.  We would also like to congratulate our friend and neighbour Estonia for recently
joining the WTO.
As a new Member of the WTO, Latvia has committed itself to the implementation of all the
WTO rules without any transitional periods.  Concerning market access, Latvia has bound all tariff
lines for goods and has extensive sector coverage for services.  As a result of the accession
negotiations, Latvia has established a rules-based trading regime with considerably higher market
openness than other Members of the WTO with a similar, or even higher level, of economic
development.
Therefore, we strongly support focusing on market access issues for services and agricultural
products.  The existing differences in the levels of market access commitments in the two sectors and
the wide use of certain distortive trade measures in the field of agriculture forms a basis for
discrimination against new WTO Members.
In our view it undermines the effectiveness of th e multilateral trading system and to a certain
extent is proven by rapid development of regional trade agreements.
Globalization and increasing interlinkage among the economies of separate countries is an
inescapable process.  It is important that the WTO responds to this process and plays a constructive
role in shaping the global trading system.
The Government of Latvia believes that future work in the WTO is crucial for achieving more
open markets.  To strengthen results on market access with an effective rules system and to achieve
balanced results of negotiations, Latvia joins the EU and other countries in supporting the opening of
a new, comprehensive multilateral trade round that would include not only a built-in agenda, but alsonew topics such as trade and investment, trade and competition, trade liberalization and others.WT/MIN(99)/ST/70
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Regarding the accession of new Members to the WTO, Latvia fully supports the facilitation
and speeding up of this process.  At the same time we would like to point out that  all future
Members must show their commitment to respect and implement the WTO rules and principles.  They
must offer market access commitments that would be commercially meaningful.
In conclusion, let me confirm that the Government of Latvia strongly believes that the next
trade negotiations in the WTO framework offer the best forum for further development of the global
trading system.  We look forward to active particip ation in the New Round and hope that it will result
in significant achievements in all fields of negotiations.
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