WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/75
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5245)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE Original: Spanish
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
PARAGUAY
Statement byMr.Ruben Melgarejo Lanzoni
Minister ofForeign Relations
Mr.President, onbehalf ofthedelegation ofParaguay, Ishould liketoofferyouoursincere
congratulations onyourelection tothepresidency ofthisFirstMinisterial Conference oftheWorld
Trade Organization.
Allow meatthesametimetoexpress ourgratitude totheauthorities andpeople oftheRepublic
ofSingapore foralltheirhardwork inorganizing thisConference andforthehospitality theyhave
shown us.
TheRepublic ofParaguay isparticipating inthisFirstMinisterial Conference oftheWorld
Trade Organization because itisconvinced ofitsimportance forcontinuing progress inmultilateral
traderelations andbecause itexpects thattheconclusions wereach willcontribute tothefullintegration
ofallthedeveloping countries intothemultilateral trading system andtheelimination ofprotectionism
anddiscrimination.
There isoneincontrovertible factofourtimes, andthatistheendoftheoldworld order created
during thecoldwar. Thishasgenerated anewdebate oninternational relations which today aremore
concerned withthenature ofpolitical andeconomic change, bothquantitative andqualitative, and
especially thenature ofdemocracy, which hasbecome aparadigm ofthenewworld order.
Paraguay hasalsoundergone achange forthebetter during thistime. InFebruary 1989,
Paraguay suddenly changed thecourse ofitshistory. Itleftbehind decades ofpolitical authoritarianism,
central control oftheeconomy andinternational isolation. Inseven years wehaveconsolidated anew
system founded ondemocratic principles, economic freedoms andregional integration. Icanaffirm
thatinthisshort timeParaguay underwent acomplete change ofpolitical andeconomic direction.
Since then,ourcountry hasacceded toagrowing number ofinternational agreements andjoined
some highly important political andeconomic bodies, thereby transforming itsimage.
Itwasthisnewopenness which allowed Paraguay toaccede totheGeneral Agreement onTariffs
andTrade (GATT), thencontribute totheUruguay Round negotiations which ledtothebirthofour
Organization, andthusbecome oneofitsoriginal Members.
These changes alsomade itpossible forParaguay toparticipate actively inthedrafting ofthe
Treaty ofAsunción establishing theSouthern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which wasenvisaged
byitsfounders notasaform ofprotectionism, withthedevelopment ofaregional market intended
asanendinitself, butasaninstrument forintegration intotheprocess ofglobalization ofworld trade.WT/MIN(96)/ST/75
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Indeed, MERCOSUR isnotafortress isolated fromtherestoftheworld, butaplatform which
allows itsmembers toentertheglobalized economy onmore competitive terms, andhelps toeliminate
theobstacles tomanufacturing andtradewithin andoutside thegeographical areaitcovers. Inevidence
ofthis,wecanpoint tothefactthatsince itsformation MERCOSUR hassignificantly increased its
imports from outside theregion while reducing thelevels oftariff protection.
Paraguay considers thattheWTO should takeabroad andpragmatic viewofregionalism and
consider itslong-term impact, since multilateralism andregionalism arenotincompatible but
complementary. Inthisregard, Article XXIV oftheGATT 1994 andthecomplementary provisions
inforce intheWTO, suchastheEnabling Clause, provide aclearandsufficient basis forexamining
thecompatibility ofregional trade agreements withthemultilateral trade system.
When, inApril 1994, ourgovernments signed thelegal instruments oftheUruguay Round
inMarrakesh, theywere farfrom appreciating howcomplex theywould turnouttobeinpractice.
Since thenwehavemade great strides, andinashort timesucceeded ingiving thenewOrganization
aform andpersonality, fundamentally different from those oftheoldGATT.
Thepassage oftimehasalsorevealed theneedtoclarify many oftheprovisions andtomake
adjustments toenable them tobeapplied inaccordance withthespirit andintent ofthenegotiations.
Undoubtedly, notable progress hasbeenmade withimplementation, forexample theintroduction of
asound dispute settlement system, butthere havealsobeensignificant delays, forexample withthe
proper application oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing.
Thatiswhythedelegation ofParaguay places absolute priority inthisConference onevaluating
thefulfilment ofthecommitments undertaken intheUruguay Round. Ourcountry hasfromtheoutset
andatastroke implemented itscommitments toreduce tariffs andtotally eliminate anyformofsubsidy.
Paraguaydoesnothavequantitativerestrictionsanddoesnotrequireimportlicences.Moreover,
foregoing thetransitional period towhich itisentitled asadeveloping country, ithasplace before
parliament newlegislation ontheprotection ofintellectual property, inlinewiththecommitments
undertaken intheTRIPS Agreement .
Consequently, ithasalegitimate interest inseeing thoseMembers whohavemade commitments
toreduce andeliminate tariffandnon-tariff barriers, particularly thoserelating toagricultural andtextile
products, honour those commitments ontimeandinfull.
Anessential prerequisite forsuccess inbuilding afair,stable andsound trading system under
theWTO umbrella isthatitsMembers 'conduct befullyconsistent withitsrulesandtheircommitments.
PartFouroftheGeneral Agreement wasestablished withaviewtoachieving thefundamental
objectives ofthemultilateral trading system, namely, improved standards ofliving andprogressive
development ofeconomies, particularly those ofdeveloping countries. However, intheWTO today
there isatendency toforget thisimportant legalinstrument which provides forequal treatment ofall
itsMembers, developed anddeveloping, thusoverlook theevident diversity ofopportunities, needs
andinterests. Thissituation must becorrected inorder toachieve abetter balance intheterms of
tradeandtomake effective instruments available todeveloping economies tosupport theirownefforts
topromote export-led earnings growth.
Paraguay places great importance ondefining thework programme oftheWorld Trade
Organization onthebasis oftheAgreements signed inMarrakesh. Accordingly, ourcountry urges
developed Members tobegin immediately onthepreparatory work forthenegotiations envisaged in
theAgreement onAgriculture. Theprocess ofanalysis andexchange ofinformation which wasagreedWT/MIN(96)/ST/75
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intheCommittee onAgriculture should begin in1997, soastoensure thatnegotiations arebrought
toasuccessful conclusion assoonaspossible.
Intheprocess ofliberalization thetradeinagricultural products hasbeenunfairly marginalized
formore than40years andtheresults achieved sofarareinadequate. Therefore, thenegotiations
should leadtothetotalelimination orsubstantial reduction oftariff peaks, export subsidies, domestic
support andotherbarriers which hamper orimpede theimport offarmgoods fromdeveloping countries.
TheGovernment ofParaguay considers that,when thetrading environment sorequires, the
raising ofnewissues intheWTO should betheresult ofaprocess which takesintoaccount theinterests
ofallitsMembers anddoesnotfavour thespecial interests ofsome ofthem. Theterms ofreference
needtobeadjusted inthelightofthefundamental ruleofbalance andnegotiations musttakeintoaccount
theneedfortransparency andfairness.
OurOrganization, which originated inaprovisional agreement tomeetthespecific needs of
asmall number ofcountries, istoday onthewaytoachieving auniversal dimension. Forthistobecome
reality, itisessential thatweactuniversally andavoid thetendency tousetheWTO asaninstrument
tosatisfy particular interests tothedetriment ofthose thatareuniversal.
Today, more thanever, thesecurity oftheworld depends ontheability oftheinternational
community tofindways ofsatisfying thedevelopment needs ofallitsmembers, without exception.
Tothisend,wemustwork together torealize theobjectives setoutintheMinisterial Declaration of
Marrakesh, toachieve amultilateral trade system which isfairer andmore open, forthebenefit and
welfare ofourpeoples.