WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/101
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5285)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
BULGARIA
Statement byH.E. Mr.Atanas Paparizov
Minister ofTrade andForeign Economic Cooperation
Attheoutset Iwishtoshare thehonour andpleasure forhaving theopportunity toattend this
Ministerial Conference.
Itisofagreatimportance forBulgaria toparticipate atthefirstbiennial meeting atMinisterial
level, onlyseveral daysafteraccession totheMarrakesh Agreement Establishing theWorld Trade
Organization on1December thisyear. TheProtocol forAccession ofBulgaria hasbeenratified by
theNational Assembly within averyshort period afteritssigning on2October 1996 -aproof for
thehighpriority attached totheintegration intothemultilateral trading system andthefirmcommitment
toabide byitsrules anddisciplines.
Bulgaria 'saccession hasalonghistory. Theaimofbecoming anoriginal WTO Member has
notbeenattained foroneoranother reason. However, wecompleted thisprocess intimesothatwe
havethepossibility toactively participate asoneofthe128WTO Members atthishistoric event -
thefirstMinisterial Conference.
Bulgaria isarelatively small country withaneconomy highly dependent onforeign trade.
Itistherefore evident thatthegeneral policy oftrade liberalization could onlybeinfavour ofour
economy andourpeople. Itisalsoourunderstanding thatfurther liberalization ofthemajor markets
inthetextile andagricultural sectors willadditionally boost tradeonthebasisofeconomically recognized
comparative advantage. TheGovernment oftheRepublic ofBulgaria considers theaccession tothe
WTO asamajor achievement thatissettofurther reinforce themarket-based principles andthushelp
gradually overcome some stillexisting market imperfections.
Inthecourse ofmarket access negotiations Bulgaria made aseries ofcommitments leading
tofurther substantial liberalization oftheBulgarian market. Bulgaria committed itself toimplement
allmultilateral agreements, including TRIPS andTRIMS, without transition periods. Bulgaria isa
party totheInternational Dairy Agreement andtheInternational Bovine MeatAgreement, andacceded
totheAgreement onTrade inCivil Aircraft. TheBulgarian Government considers initiating in1997
negotiations formembership intheAgreement onGovernment Procurement. Asanintegral element
inthisprocess andfollowing theinitiative oftheBulgarian Government adraftlawonGovernment
Procurement issubmitted totheParliament forconsideration.
Iwishtoassure theWTO Members thatourefforts presently areconcentrated predominantly
ontheimplementation ofthecommitments undertaken inthecourse ofouraccession negotiations.
First, theinternal political consensus ontheadherence ofBulgaria tothemultilateral tradesystem and
respective rulesmade itpossible tohavetheProtocol ofourWTO Accession ratified within arelatively
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short period oftime. Onitspart,theGovernment already effected thenecessary adjustments tothe
customs tariffasof1December 1996(thedayofouraccession totheWTO) andthose reflect thetariff
reduction commitments undertaken inthecourse oftheaccession negotiations. Thecompliance with
theAgreements onSafeguards, Anti-Dumping, Subsidies andCountervailing Measures andRules of
Origin hasalsobeencarefully evaluated, andtherecommendations expressed byanumber oforiginal
WTO Members havebeenincorporated intherespective domestic legislation. Theamendments will
enter intoforce twoweeks aftertheirpublication. TheGovernment hasgoneevenfurther andtoday
atitsregular meeting itisconsidering amendments tothecustoms tariffthatwould provide forfurther
unilateral tariff cutsonimports ofsome industrial products, andwould expand anumber ofthetariff
ratequotas already opened intheagricultural sector.
AsanewMember totheOrganization weareintheprocess ofconstructing andtesting of
adomestic structure thatistosecure timely andaccurate implementation ofourcommitments vis-à-vis
therespectiveWTOAgreementsandthuswealsoenvisagetocreatethenecessarydomesticadministrative
basisforon-going negotiations intherespective different areasoffuture codification andliberalization.
Bulgaria iscommitted toparticipate actively inthework oftheOrganization forfurther
liberalization ofinternational trade asweseenoplausible alternative toit.
Inconclusion Iwould liketoexpress onbehalf oftheBulgarian Government andonmyown
behalf ourdeepappreciation fortheconstructive dialogue, thespirit ofcooperation andflexibility
demonstrated onthepartofallMembers inthecourse ofBulgaria 'saccession negotiations.