WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/17
9December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5187)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE Original: Spanish
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
URUGUAY
Statement byH.E. Mr.Alvaro Ramos
Minister ofForeign Affairs
Myveryfirstwords gototheGovernment ofSingapore tothank itforitshospitality andto
express oursupport inproducing asatisfactory outcome tothisConference.
Many delegations havepointed totheneedfortheConference toadopt decisions invarious
sectors ortoagree onstarting work intheWTO onnewissues.
ItisUruguay 'sviewthat,without prejudice tothetreatment ofthese matters, before weseek
newpriorities fortheOrganization 'swork, solutions must befound tooldissues insectors thatare
vitaltothemajority ofdeveloping countries, suchasagriculture andtextiles.
Inagriculture, theAgreement reached intheUruguay Round hassignified ahistoric change
ofdirection. However, ithasonlymarked thebeginning ofaprocess ofreform ofinternational
agricultural trade.
Ourcountry continues toencounter difficulties inmarket access.
Production subsidies, although withdifferent instruments, arestillatextremely highlevels.
Therecent re-introduction ofexport subsidies forgrains brings tomind situations from the
pastthatnobody wants toseerepeated.
These practices donotnecessarily involve violations ofUruguay Round commitments, but
theirexistence clearly demonstrates theinadequacy ofthecommitments.
Accordingly, weconsider itessential tocontinue theagricultural tradereform process, thereby
complying withtheterms ofArticle 20oftheAgreement onAgriculture.
Consequently, wefullysupport theagreement reached intheCommittee onAgriculture that
thepreparatory stage should beinitiated in1997 foreffectively embarking onnegotiations in1999.
Together withagriculture, services alsocallfornegotiations tobeinitiated atthebeginning
oftheyear2000. However, inourdraftDeclaration there isamarked contrast inthewayinwhich
thetwoissues areconsidered.
Inthecaseofservices, weMinisters commit ourselves tosupporting afurther round of
negotiations, something thatourcountry fullyshares, butthere isnosuchequivalent commitment in
regard toagriculture.Tomake good thisomission, wefirmly believe thattheConference should include inits
Ministerial Declaration aclearmessage about thecommitment ofMinisters tocontinuing theagricultural
reform process.
Wewishtoemphasize that,ashappened intheUruguay Round, simultaneous headway inall
negotiation sectors willbeaprerequisite forstriking abalance between benefits andobligations that
isacceptable toeveryone.
Uruguayisacountrythatismarkedbyitsattachmenttotheobservanceoflawandtothepeaceful
settlement ofdisputes. Itwill,therefore, come asnosurprise thatwecontinue topayclose heedto
allmatters pertaining tothedispute settlement system established intheWTO.
Itisgratifying tonotethatdeveloping countries areturning more andmore tothismechanism
when theyconsider thattheirinterests havebeeninjured. Itisahealthy andencouraging trend that
clearly demonstrates confidence inthesystem 'sefficiency andimpartiality, without which thedelicate
balance ofbenefits andobligations builtupinthecourse oftheUruguay Round could wellbelost.
TheWTO hasbeenpaying special attention toeconomic regionalism.
Iamabletoaffirm thatUruguay hasexperienced nodifficulties, either theoretical orpractical,
infaithfully fulfilling itssimultaneous commitments bothinMERCOSUR andintheWTO; in
contributing tothefreetrade agreements between MERCOSUR andother Latin American countries;
infacing eventual participation intheplanned FreeTrade AreaoftheAmericas andinthenegotiations
between MERCOSUR andtheEuropean Union toliberalize trade between bothparties.
Thishasoccurred foraverysimple reason: MERCOSUR practises openregionalism.
Occasionally, some criticisms havebeenaddressed toMERCOSUR. Werespond tosuch
opinions withincontrovertible facts: increasing trade flows, intra- andextra-MERCOSUR; trade
liberalization; andtheincreasing interest thatoursubregional regime sparks among many tradepartners.
Weknow thatweareontherightpathandweshallcontinue along it,asdootherWTO Members
through various mechanisms thathavebeensetuporareintheprocess ofbeing devised.
Yetwecontinue tobethefirsttodefend strictcompliance withArticle XXIV oftheGATT 1994
andoftheUnderstanding thereon reached during theUruguay Round and,atthesame time, weshall
spare noeffort insupporting thework oftheCommittee onRegional Trade Agreements.
With reference tothe"new issues" thathavebeenproposed forinclusion intheWTO future
work programme, Ishould statethat,although many ofthemarenotatthepresent timepriority matters
forUruguay, weshallparticipate inthedebates withconstructive criteria andinthelightofanappraisal
ofnational interest.
Thisfirstmeeting ofMinisters enables ustotakealookatthevastpanorama opening upfor
theWTO inthefuture. Theentry ofthe28countries thatareintheaccession process willmean that
theuniversality ofthemultilateral trading system isachieved.
Oursubject matter iseverbroader, andthechallenges areevergreater.
Iwould venture todescribe thisConference ashistoric. Itrustthatitwillberemembered
asalandmark intheimprovement ofeconomic relations among thenations oftheworld, inthesearch
forhigher living standards, which forhalfacentury havebeenthebasic aimofourGovernments,
firstmade explicit inGATT andnowintheWTO. InSingapore, weareengaged inthetaskof
strengthening inescapable leadership inshaping therenewed international order thatistheimperative
taskofthecoming century.