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Special Edition 1996

Conclusions of the III Meeting of Government Officials Responsible for Trade Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Conclusions

    1. The delegations participating in the event ratified the importance of continuing to hold the Meetings of Government Officials Responsible for Trade Policy of Latin America and the Caribbean, convening them as frequently as necessary, as well as the validity of the conclusions drawn by the II Meeting held at the headquarters of SELA on February 8, 1996 in Caracas.

    2. An aspect pointed out during the analysis of the regulatory convergence process and of the negotiations at hemispheric and multilateral level was the greater depth of trade policy issues whose scope goes beyond access to markets in trade in goods. The present multidisciplinary nature of negotiations strengthens the need for greater interinstitutional coordination within governments in order to define negotiating positions, and the establishment of a new generation of negotiators on current and emerging issues. Another aspect pointed out was the strengthening of the regulatory capacity of governments in order to meet commitments.

    3. At the hemispheric level, the preparatory process of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is being initiated aiming at transparency to identify the possible convergence areas through the activities of 11 working groups. Another factor stressed was the need to adopt coherent positions on these issues, which are negotiated in a parallel manner at the sub-regional, regional and multilateral level.

    4. The role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in monitoring the Agreements and the implementation of the Uruguay Round results using established institutional mechanisms and notification procedures was discussed when evaluating the multilateral agenda.

    5. The delegations ratified the need to comply with commitments and strictly monitor their observance by developed countries. Particular mention was made of the reduction in agricultural subsidies, integration of trade in textiles, growing participation of developing countries in trade in services (art. IV of GATS) and the compliance with the «Ministerial decision on possible negative effects of the Agricultural Agreement for net food importing countries». Likewise, the attempts to shorten transition periods in favor of developing countries were rejected, particularly those concerning intellectual property. Furthermore, the evaluation of the implicit agenda on agriculture, services, and trade and environment calls for prior preparatory work, national diagnostics and identification of challenges and opportunities by country.

    6. Hemispheric and multilateral aspects of three specific issues were discussed: competition policy, trade and investment, and trade in services. As regards competition policy, the lack of legislation in most countries of the region was pointd out as well as the existence of asymmetries related to the culture of competition. Consensus was reached on the need to work in the creation of national competition regimes, introducing new legislation and reinforcing the institutional capacity of governments. To this end, it was recommended that convergence areas identified at the hemispheric level be taken into account as well as the promotion of bilateral technical cooperation actions by UNCTAD, SELA and other organizations. The hemispheric and multilateral work was supported by the delegations, particularly due to their links to trade in services, liberalization of investments and agreements on unfair trade practices. To that end, the proposal to set up a working group at the WTO during the Ministerial Meeting in Singapore was supported.

    7. Discussion of the trade and investment issue indicated the high consensus level among the countries of the hemisphere regarding foreign investments' role in economic development, evidenced in the level of conceptual convergence of national legislations, in sub-regional agreements and in the exceptions. Support was provided for the creation of a Working Group within the WTO to study the implications of a possible multilateral investment agreement, in a balanced manner, that includes elements of technology transfer, direct foreign investment and investment incentives, within a universal framework. This will ensure the discussion of the issue in a forum grouping all countries in the region; to this end, a broad mandate was given to UNCTAD in the Midrand Declaration.

    8. Regarding the issue of trade in services, information on hemispheric and WTO negotiations was exchanged, underscoring the need for transparency and active participation by Latin America and the Caribbean in the Working Groups within the WTO. In this context, there is concern about the lack of satisfactory results of the post Uruguay Round negotiations on maritime transport, financial services, movement of natural persons and basic telecommunications. Support was given to Chile's proposal in the WTO to foster a transparent process similar to the one at the Hemispheric level in order to count on sufficient information for restarting the negotiation in the year 2000, placing special emphasis on compliance by the developed countries with art. IV of GATS.

    9. A unanimous request was made to the ALADI/ECLAC/SELA working mechanism to circulate working documents for meetings at least one month in advance in both English and Spanish.

    10. The Delegations welcomed the proposal that the IV Meeting be held at ECLAC Headquarters in Santiago de Chile at the beginning of September 1997.

    Montevideo, 21 October 1996

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