WORLD TRADE WT/GC(95)/ST/16
30January 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0300)
Original: English Council Division
13and15December 1995
MALAYSIA
Statement byH.E. Mr.Haron Siraj
Ambassador, Permanent Representative
Developments inWorld Trade
While exports havegrown itwillbeinteresting tonotethatimports grew onabigger scale
forASEAN. Much reference hasbeenmade toASEAN 'ssuccess butthisshould notbeseenbytrading
partners asachallenge orthreat intheworld market butrather asanopportunity since theASEAN
market israpidly expanding.
Thefavourable trade performance should notbeinterpreted tomean thatASEAN doesnot
faceanytrade impediments.
- in1995 alone nolessthan5anti-dumping andCVD investigations ormeasures have
beentargeted atASEAN countries;
- anti-circumventioninvestigationswhicharenotallowedintheAnti-DumpingAgreement
havealready beeninitiated against some ofusinASEAN;
- theliberalization intextiles tradedoesnotseemtobeproceeding asexpected andmany
"calls" weremade andASEAN toohasnotbeenspared. Theintegration process under
thenewtextiles regime doesnotseemtogiveimmediate tangible benefits eventhough
countries havecomplied withtheTextiles Agreement. Ihopethese countries could
givegreater consideration tothespirit oftheTextiles Agreement;
- trade instruments purportedly usedforenvironmental reasons bysome ofourmajor
trading partners areanother bigconcern forASEAN. While work isstillongoing in
theCommittee onTrade andEnvironment aswellasinother international fora,these
trading partners havechosen to"beat thegun"andimposed unilateral measures atthe
sub-national level, andthisisalready affecting ourexports oftimber products.
WTO Activities
Inthefirstyearofimplementation oftheWTO Agreements, thekeypreoccupation hasbeen
thefulfilment ofnotification obligations. WeinASEAN havegiven particular importance tosuch
obligations andhaveendeavoured tomeetallnotification requirements. Under thesingle undertaking
we,likemany other developing countries, havebeensuddenly burdened withnotification requirements
anditwould beunfair tofindfaultinthisfirstyearofimplementation where itwould beimpossible
toexpect fullcompliance. While recognizing theimportance ofnotifications asameans tomonitor
implementation oftheAgreements, some latitude offlexibility needs tobeexercised intheformative
years oftheWTO. ./.WT/GC(95)/ST/16
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Oneconcern wewould liketopoint outistheattempt bycertain Members toimpose further
obligations onnotifications which inouropinion areotherwise notprescribed intheAgreements. To
citeanexample, where adeveloping country Member isallowed atransitional period forimplementation
ofanAgreement orpartoftheAgreement, certain Members havebeenasking developing countries
invoking suchprovisions toprovide justifications. Inother instances, wedetect unreasonableness in
some oftheissues raised inthereview ofnotifications. Wehope thisisnota"backdoor" attempt
todenytheleast-developed countries theagreed special anddifferential provisions intheAgreements.
Technical Cooperation
ASEAN applauds theDirector-General 'sstatement withregard totechnical cooperation and
thespecial emphasis ontheLDCs. Funds areofcourse getting scarce --hence theneedtoensure
costeffectiveness andmaximizing thesynergies amongst therelated agencies, i.e.,WTO andUNCTAD.
Alsoweshould notforget thereareother smaller developing countries which willundoubtedly
needtechnical assistance. Itistherefore crucial thatbesides maximizing thesynergies, theWTO 's
technical cooperation activities should alsoaimatmaximizing benefits --landing multiplier effects
andastoasmany countries aspossible, andcapable ofbeing followed through. There should bemore
effective monitoring andevaluation.
Perhaps withaviewtoachieving this,therecould alsobethepossibility, interalia,oftheWTO
undertaking programmes including training incollaboration withregional arrangements andregional
commissions oftheUnited Nations.
Singapore Ministerial Conference
Asregards theSingapore Ministerial meeting, ASEAN wishes tounderline thefollowing points:
- issues ofimplementation arethepriority;
- forthenewissues, wewould onlyremind theneedforconsensus building;
- itwould beinourcommon interest nottooverload theagenda andavoid building too
highanexpectation.