. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/420
2 October 2001
(01-4686)
Original:  Spanish
LATIN AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON FREE ZONES
Statement by the Dominican Republic
The following communication, dated 27 September 2001, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic.
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The Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations and other
international organizations in Geneva sends its compliments to the Director-General of the WorldTrade Organization (WTO), Mr. Mike Moore, and has the pleasure of transmitting herewith
1, on
behalf of its own delegation and those of Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, a
copy of the Joint Declaration adopted at the V Latin American Conference on Free Zones on
31 August 2001, with the request that it be formally circulated as a public document through the
General Council's special implementation mechanism and at tomorrow's meeting of the Committee onSubsidies and Countervailing Measures.
The Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic would like to take this opportunity to
highlight the important political message contained in this Joint Statement.  This message is
particularly crucial, as we prepare for the 4
th Ministerial Conference, in instilling a sense of urgency in
the discussions we have been holding at the WTO since 1998 in an effort to solve implementation
problems relating to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
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1 Copy annexed hereto.WT/L/420
Page 2
ANNEX
V Latin American Conference on Free Zones
Joint Declaration
On the occasion of the V Latin American Conference on Free Zones, held in Colon, Panama,
from 30 to 31 August 2001, the representatives of the Latin American free zones,
Considering:
That the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) provides for the elimination, as from 1 January 2003, of certain fiscal incentives
which have made possible the creation and development of the free zones of Latin America;
That the free zones have become a valid instrument for the development of our peoples and
an effective way of boosting income and improving the standard of living of our inhabitants;
That the significant contributions to economic and social development by the free zones have
not yet sufficed to meet the basic needs of the peoples of Latin America;
That the elimination of the fiscal incentives applied in the free zones could have a highly
negative impact on the ability of our countries to retain and attract investments, to maintain their
employment levels and to prevent emigration to the developed countries;
That the Agreement provides for preferential mechanisms which favour investment in the
relatively less developed countries;
Hereby  declare:
1. That the Member countries of the WTO should ensure that our countries retain the power to
continue granting fiscal incentives in the free zones by adopting a binding Ministerial Decision during
the 4th Ministerial Conference to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 9 to 13 November 2001;
2. That the maintenance of the incentives granted in the free zones should be for an indefinite
period of time, subject to the criteria established in the economic policies and development strategies
of our countries;
3. That the representatives of the free zones of Latin America authorize the Committee on Free
Zones of the Americas to examine the different alternatives submitted during the course of the
V Latin American Conference on Free Zones with a view to proposing to the WTO, through its
Members, alternatives for bringing the incentives of the free zone regime into conformity, where
appropriate, with the provisions of the Agreement.
The members of the Latin American Committee on Free Zones are urged to contact their
respective governments to ensure that they take the necessary steps to guarantee the implementation
of the resolutions contained in this Joint Declarati on and any other initiative that contributes to the
further development of the free zones in our countries.
Done at Colon, Panama, on the 31st day of the month of August 2001.
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