WORLD TRADE WT/GC(95)/ST/15
30January 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0299)
Original: English GENERAL COUNCIL
13and15December 1995
POLAND
Statement byMr.J.Kaczurba
Minister Counsellor, Permanent Representative
Likethepreceding speakers, Ithank theDirector-General forhisAnnual Report andforthe
encouragingmessagewhichcomesoutofthisvaluableoverviewoftheinternationaltradingenvironment.
Ayearwhich haspassed since theeffective startoftheWTO merits agenerally positive
assessment oftheoperation ofthisinstitution andofthemultilateral system ofwhich itisachampion.
From among many aspects oftheone-year WTO experience mayImention justafew.
First,theinitialinstalmentofmarketaccesscommitmentsseemstohavecontributedtoadynamic
international tradeperformance. Suchis,forinstance, theexperience ofPoland, atleastontheimport
side. Asaresult ofextensive market opening measures andastrong GDP growth of6.5percent,
Poland 'simports havebeenexpanding thisyearbysome 30percentindollar terms, more thantwice
asfastaslastyear, withexports lagging behind. Asimilar performance isexpected tobesustained
in1996aswell,contributing toamorecompetitive business environment, which isessential forsystemic
transformation.
Second, ifoneconsiders thecomplexities oftheWTO legal framework andthenewand
substantial administrative burdens which itentails fornational administrations ofitsMembers, the
absorptionoftheWTOrulesintoadministrativeandtradepracticesappearstohavebeenquitesuccessful.
TheDirector-General 'sreport contains afairandbalanced assessment ofthegeneral situation inthis
area. Itrecognizes theconsiderable progress which hasalready beenmade inadjustment ofMembers '
domestic lawtotheWTO standards, without losing sightoftheneedtoaccelerate thisprocess. Looking
atthisproblem again fromthePolish perspective, Iampleased toinform thishouse thatthelegislative
andexecutive institutions inPoland havebeenandwillcontinue tobeactively engaged inanextensive
review ofthedomestic lawandprocedures withaviewtoensuring theirconsistency withWTO rules
andrequirements. Thisdevelopment hasalready resulted insubstantial improvements inthequality
andWTO compatibility oftheregulatory framework insuchareas as:customs administration, import
licensing, subsidy disciplines, better access toournational market forservices andinvestment or
enhancedprotectionofintellectualandindustrialproperty,tonamejustafew.Anewandcomprehensive
customs law,based onthecorresponding regulations oftheEuropean Union, isnowbefore the
Parliament. Itwillbecomplemented bynewregulations onanti-dumping, countervailing, safeguards
andnon-tariff measures. Thisentire package isexpected tobecome effective early inthesecond half
of1996. Itisdesigned tosatisfy theWTO requirements andtostreamline ourdomestic legalsystem
inthecontext ofitsadjustment tothatoftheEuropean Union.
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Third, thereport bytheDirector-General rightly highlights theimportance ofnotification
proceduresandencouragesMemberstostepuptheireffortstocomplywiththerelevantWTOprovisions.
MayIobserve, however, thatevenwiththebestofefforts, thescope andcomplexity ofthenotification
process mayposearealchallenge tothesheer administrative capacity ofmany governments, including
myown,especially when theyattempt tosecure highquality andreliability oftheinformation provided.
Besides, theirtaskhasnotbeenmade easier byprotracted debates within theWTO onsome detailed
notification formats, norbytheneedtotranslate extensive legaltextswhen suchcountries havethe
badfortune ofnothaving oneoftheWTO official languages astheirnational language. Therefore,
anecessary measure ofpragmatic understanding andflexibility should continue tobeexercised for
some timebyWTO Members intheirapproach totheenforcement ofnotification disciplines.
Much work liesahead asregards theextensive schedule ofnewaccessions. Thedrive toenter
theWTO should be,andindeed is,welcomed andsupported asanother proof oftherelevance ofthis
institution andanecessary ingredient ofitstrueuniversality. Inthisprocess aproper balance should
bemaintained between reasonable expediency andtheneedtopreserve theintegrity ofWTO rules
anddisciplines.
Finally, mayIcomment briefly onthework programme forthecoming yearasweembark
onthepreparations fortheSingapore Ministerial. MyGovernment believes thatthepriority attention
should gotofullimplementation ofsubstantive market access commitments andofother negotiated
legalobligations which havematerial consequences forWTO Members individually andcollectively.
There isalsoan"unfinished business" which needs tobecompleted. However, itisalsoclear that
theWTO, withitsgreatly expanded responsibility forthehealth oftheworld economy, mustnotturn
away from issues which gobeyond thepresent WTO coverage, provided thattheycanbeeffectively
managed within thisinstitution andwillnotcontradict therights obtained through theUruguay Round
negotiations. Itistherefore essential thatsuchissues should beidentified anddiscussed openly and
publicly within theexisting WTO institutional framework andwiththemaximum possible transparency.