Feb 25, 1992

UNCTAD-VIII: CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING AND EXTENDING GSP.

CARTEGENA DE INDIAS, FEBRUARY 22 (TWN) – The Eighth Session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development in its recommendations on international trade is calling for the extension of the Generalised System of Preferences schemes and for comprehensive product coverage and for modalities to extend preferences to non-tariff areas.

In other recommendations, the Conference has expanded the scope of work on restrictive business practices to bring within its ambit the task of promoting further liberalisation of international trade and for UNCTAD work in this area to cover both goods and services.

The recommendations- of the working group II, which were approved by the Main Committee Saturday and passed on to the plenary, called on all countries to implement previous commitments to halt and reverse protectionism and further expand market access, particularly in areas of interest to developing countries.

While this does not go beyond such earlier statements at UNCTAD, the EC and other industrial countries wanted elimination of all such references.

The Conference is also calling for the observance by all countries of their international commitments on the granting of differential and more favourable treatment to developing countries, while at the same time it also recognises the "graduation" principle by saying that the international trading system should provide for the increasing integration of developing countries into the international trading system in accordance with their level of development.

Third World countries are called upon to continue their trade policy reforms and structural adjustment, progressively reducing their import barriers "consistent with their trade, financial and development needs" and asks the international community to strengthen these efforts "through adequate improved market access and increased flows of financial resources".

In regard to the GSP, the Conference encourages preference-giving countries to continue to improve and renew the schemes and extend the schemes operation periods in order to avoid the uncertainty of preferences.

It also recommends that preference-giving countries should comply with the multilaterally agreed principles of the GSP and consider appropriate adjustment in country coverage.

It also calls upon preference-giving countries to consider, if possible, comprehensive product coverage, especially in the context of the review of the schemes under way in many preference-giving countries.

"Limitations and restrictions on preferential imports, as well as withdrawal of preferential benefits should be minimised and the rules of origin should be simplified and harmonised, where possible".

The conference also expresses concern over the incidence of non-tariff measures on benefits deriving from GSP schemes and preference-giving countries are urged to make efforts to reduce or eliminate such barriers.

GSP schemes hitherto provide only for tariff preferences favouring the Third World countries. An agreed consensus recommendation calls for an examination of modalities to extend the preferences to non-tariff areas too.

Towards this end, the UNCTAD Special Committee on Preferences has been asked to examine the scope and possible modalities for extending with respect to goods the preferential treatment to developing countries in accordance with the principles and objectives underlying the GSP.

The Trade and Development Board is also being asked, annually at its spring session, to continue to review global developments in the evolution of production and trade in manufactures, commodities and services. The review is to comprise analysis of the principal elements and effects of structural adjustment policies and trade policies and policy options, taking into account the special interests of developing countries.

On the pending Uruguay Round, the Conference has reiterated the principles and objectives of the Punta del Este Declaration and has called on all participants, particularly major trading partners, to make determined efforts to arrive at an "early, balanced, comprehensive and successful outcome" of the Round.

On the emerging regional trading blocs and arrangements, the Conference has called upon the TDB to review "the implications of the emerging regional free trade and economic integration agreements for developing countries and for the international trading system". It also calls upon the TDB to promote regional and subregional integrations, particularly among developing countries as a complementary measures to strengthen the trade liberalisation process in the world economy.

On the issue of restrictive business practices, the Conference asks UNCTAD to pursue through the Intergovernmental Group of Expert on RBPs its work on policies and rules for control of RBPs "in order to encourage competition, to promote the proper functioning of markets and efficient resource allocation and bring about further liberalisation of international trade".

UNCTAD's work in this field, the Conference has said, should cover both goods and services.

The Conference notes the ongoing discussions in the UN and in the GATT on strengthening institutional arrangements in the area of multilateral trade, and proposals in the Uruguay Round for the establishment of a multilateral trade Organisation to implement the results of the negotiations, and "reaffirms UNCTAD's mandate and important role in the international trading system".

On Environment and Trade, the Conference says that environmental policies should deal with the root causes of environmental degradation "thus avoiding environmental measures that result in unnecessary restrictions to trade".

"The Conference recognises that trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade".

"Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges should be avoided. Environmental measures addressing transborder or global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus".

"Domestic measures targeted to achieve certain environmental objectives may need trade measures to render them effective".

"Should trade policy measures be found necessary for the enforcement of environmental policies, certain principles should apply", the Conference reiterates.

"These could include inter alia: the principle of non-domination; the principle that trade measures chosen should be the least trade restrictive necessary to achieve the objectives; and an obligation to ensure transparency in the use of trade measures related to the environment and to provide adequate notification of national regulations and the need to give consideration to the special conditions and developmental requirements of developing countries as they move towards internationally agreed environmental objectives".

UNCTAD, at both intergovernmental and secretariat level, taking into account work of other relevant fora, should undertake in-depth work on the clarifications of the interlinkages between trade and environment and the need for environmental protection to coexist with liberal trade policies and free market access, and contribute to consensus building with regard to appropriate principles and rules.

On the issue of "trade efficiency" and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the Conference notes the benefits and substantial time and money saving through these new techniques and suggests that a truly universal use of EDI was needed to benefit from the techniques.

It calls for the establishment of a trade efficiency expert group to report periodically to the Board on the progress of its work and among other things provide guidelines for taking concrete steps at trade efficiency, at national and international levels.

The culmination of the efforts of the expert group is to be an international symposium on trade efficiency to be held in 1994.

In technology, the Conference statement on intellectual property rights recognises both the needs for internationally agreed standards and for recognition in such standards of the underlying public policy objectives, including developmental and technological objectives.

The document said: "The Conference recognises that the establishment and implementation of internationally agreed standards of protection for intellectual property rights which recognises underlying public policy objectives, including developmental and technological objectives, should facilitate international flows of technology cooperation amongst all participating nations, particularly developing countries on terms and conditions agreed to by the parties concerned".

In this regard, the document noted the important role of WIPO and the important efforts in the GATT Uruguay Round in this.

It added: "The Conference further recognises that a national regime for the adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights is important because it can create market incentives for indigenous innovation and the transfer, adaptation and diffusion of technologies".

On the long pending code of conduct on technology negotiations, the Conference recognised that at present conditions do not exist to reach full agreement on all outstanding issues in the draft code of conduct on transfer of technology.

However, if governments indicate that there is a convergence of views to reach agreement on all outstanding issues, the TDB should re-engage and continue its work at facilitating agreement on the code.

The Conference agreed that the transfer and development of environmentally sound technologies was "an essential component of a successful strategy for sustainable development and requests that effective modalities for the creation, development, favourable access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries, including on concessional and preferential terms, should be examined".