WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/65
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5249)
Original: Spanish MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
COSTA RICA
Statement byH.E. Mr.JoséRossi
Minister ofForeign Trade
From theoutset, Mr.Chairman, Ishould liketoconvey thesincere gratitude oftheGovernment
ofCosta RicatoyouandtotheGovernment ofSingapore forthesplendid organization andthehospitality
with which wehave been received. Ishould alsoliketoexpress ourdeep appreciation to
Mr.RenatoRuggiero,Director-GeneraloftheWorldTradeOrganization,forablyandefficientlyleading
theOrganization during these firsttwodifficult years, andalsototheSecretariat foritsvaluable
contribution tothatwork.
Two years have gone bysince ourGovernments puttheir signatures totheMarrakesh
Agreements. Today, wearemeeting hereinaccordance withoneofthose mandates. Itrustthatthis
willhelptostrengthen theOrganization, firstbyaproper examination oftheimplementation ofthe
WTO Agreements andDecisions andareview ofthenegotiations andthework programme, and
secondly, byareview oftheroletobeplayed bytheOrganization inthefuture.
These havebeentwoyears ofmajor efforts tofulfilcommitments. Werealized thatitwould
bethatwaybefore weassumed thecommitments, butwealsoknew thattheglobal process of
liberalization would make apositive contribution toeconomic growth anddevelopment.
Theoverall result oftheimplementation oftheAgreements ispositive. Thereports bythe
various WTO bodies reflect thisinmost instances. Ishould likeinparticular tohighlight thevalue
oftheclearer andfirmer legal framework andthefunctioning ofadispute settlement system with
strengthened rules-andhence credibility. Itisamore streamlined system inwhich theautomaticity
oftheresults hasimparted greater security totrade relations.
However, although implementation hasbeensatisfactory formostoftheAgreements, Imust
express theconcern oftheGovernment ofCosta Ricaattheimpediments ithasexperienced inthe
implementation oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing (ATC). ThisAgreement wasundoubtedly
anessential partinthedelicate balance ofresults obtained inMarrakesh, foritbrought WTO disciplines
andprinciples toasector hitherto deprived ofthem, asector ofenormous interest tomany countries,
particularly developing countries. However, theexpectations ofatextile andclothing tradethatwould
abide bytheprovisions ofthemultilateral trading system havebeenturned intoconcern about failure
tocomply withthose rules. From theinstitutional standpoint, ithasbeenextremely serious tofind
thatthebodyresponsible foroverseeing implementation oftheTextiles Agreement hasfailed tofulfil
itsmandate onsome occasions, asthatbody itself hasrecognized, andthishasaltered thebalance of
Members 'rights andduties inregard totheAgreement. These serious instances ofnon-fulfilment
mustnotberepeated infuture, because apartfromtheharm caused toMembers, theywould undermine
thatbody'scredibility stillmore. Again, compliance byMembers isalsoamatter ofgrave concern.
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Particularly serious istheabusive andimmoderate usethatoneMember hasmade ofspecial safeguards
and,ashasbeendemonstrated inatleastonecase, inviolation oftheprovisions oftheATC.
Proper implementation ofthisAgreement isabsolutely essential. Inthisregard, theCouncil
onTradeinGoodsmustoverseeitsimplementationregularlyandcarefully,toensurethatimplementation
abides bytheprovisions oftheAgreement, including those relating tothefunctioning oftheTextiles
Monitoring Body.
TheGovernment ofCosta Ricaattaches great importance totheWork Programme andtothe
Built-in Agenda andwillmake every effort toensure thattheyarecarried outinaccordance withthe
Marrakesh commitments. What ismore, webelieve thatthere areareas inwhich theliberalization
process could gobeyond those commitments, forMembers abletoagree toit.Accordingly, the
Government ofCosta Ricahassupported theinitiative foramost-favoured-nation tariff elimination
fortradeinproducts intheinformation technology sector. Wetrustthatopennegotiations onthevarious
aspects, including coverage andperiods ofimplementation ofcommitments, willenable alargenumber
ofMembers toform partofthisimportant plurilateral agreement.
Webelieve thattheWTO 'swork cangostillfurther. Forthisreason, wehavebacked the
introduction ofsome issues which havenotyetfound theirplace intheOrganization. TheGovernment
ofCosta Ricahasco-sponsored aproposal toinitiate work oninvestment andtrade, since webelieve
itnecessary forthisissue tobebroadly considered intheWTO. Wehave alsosupported the
establishment ofaworking party, along withaprogramme ofactivities, inaccordance withthedraft
decision distributed. Wetrustthatthework tobestarted bytheworking party willleadtoamultilateral
agreement onthismatter within theWTO framework.
MyGovernment alsoendorses theintroduction ofthethreeother "new issues" thathavebeen
included inthefinalparagraph ofthedraftMinisterial Declaration.
Wetrustthat,asaresult ofthismeeting andofthedecisions thatwillbeadopted, theWorld
Trade Organization willhavegreater credibility andstronger functions, thattheground willbelaid
fortrulysatisfactory implementation oftheAgreements, andthatgreater opportunities willbeafforded
fortrade andinvestment leading toglobal economic growth.