Andean countries prepare for Third World WTO Conference

Lima, Sept. 7. The Andean countries should be prepared to defend their interests in the new round of multilateral trade negotiations that will probably be launched before year's end at the Third World WTO Conference, in Seattle, U.S.A., Sebastián Alegrett, Andean Community Secretary General, maintained today.

He indicated that the decisions that are adopted at the Seattle World Conference will heavily influence the development of the world trade system. Our own integration process will not be immune, especially if the new round of multilateral negotiations is set into motion as planned.

"There are those who believe that it is not yet time to launch a new round of multilateral negotiations because we have not finished assimilating the results of the Uruguay Round. Furthermore, the troubled economic situation in our countries does not provide the most favorable climate for embarking on an endeavor of such importance," he added.

Alegrett was of the opinion, however, that globalization and the serious consequences generated by its excesses, especially for the developing countries, call for appropriate international regulation. "For that reason, I believe that the launching of a new round of negotiations will give us the opportunity to see that the multilateral system is made more open, transparent and balanced," he explained.

He underscored the fact that "we should continue striving to improve the conditions under which our goods and services enter world markets, recognizing, of course, that there are sharp differences in levels of development among WTO member countries."

Alegrett spoke in these terms on opening the Seminar for Andean Negotiators on the Preparation of the Third World Conference of the WTO, held at the Andean Community headquarters. Manuela Tortora, Coordinator of the UNCTAD Trade Diplomacy Program, joined him as a speaker in that ceremony.

The Secretary General emphasized that the Third Ministerial Meeting of the WTO calls for the proper preparation of the Andean negotiators, so that they will know where they are headed and how to reinforce their points of agreement. In that way, "when the launching takes place, we will be able to write part of the history of the world to come in the next millennium."

UNCTAD official Manuela Tortora, for her part, explained that the aim of the seminar is to offer support for the preparation and updating of Andean trade negotiators as part of the Trade Diplomacy Program being started by her organization, and for the identification and preparation of the negotiating positions of the Andean countries at the Third Ministerial Conference of the WTO.

She stated that the two months left before the Seattle Ministerial Conference are too short a time in which to prepare complex negotiations that hold very important implications from the viewpoint of the national interests of the developing countries.

"It is not enough, in preparing the national position before this Ministerial Conference, to examine existing commitments or to take stock of what has been accomplished and what remains to be done. A much more sustained effort at analysis will be needed, in order to identify the costs and benefits for putting together the new negotiating positions and for building up international political consensuses and external alliances," she went on to explain.

The Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be held from November 30 to December 3, 1999, in Seattle, United States, with the participation of representatives of the 133 member countries.

The seminar for Andean negotiators that started today at the headquarters of the CAN General Secretariat consists of a statement about the preparation of the Third Conference, made by Sergio Delgado of the WTO, and a panel presentation with the participation of Craig van Grasstek and Manuela Tortora, UNCTAD officials both of them, on the positions of the industrialized countries, the challenges facing the developing countries, and the preparation of a "positive agenda."

Panels involving Andean Community and UNCTAD specialists are also planned on the outlook for the Andean countries and the investments on the multilateral agenda, as well as the forthcoming negotiations on agriculture and services.

Andean government officials responsible for the WTO and private sector representatives are participating in the Seminar.