Nov 9, 1988

OPPOSITION FROM NORTH TO GATT ACTION ON HAZARDOUS TRADE.

GENEVA, NOVEMBER 8 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN)—The U.S., EEC and other industrialised countries have indicated their opposition to any substantive actions in GATT to curb the "international trade" in exports of domestically prohibited goods and toxic and hazardous wastes.

This became clear at the 44th session of the GATT contracting parties, when the deputy director-general of GATT, Mr. Charles Carlyle reported on the consultations he had been carrying out on this question.

Independently, Nigeria has circulated a technical note on the main elements of an agreement in GATT on the issue. It has also said that the issue should be placed on the agenda of the Montreal Ministerial mid-term review meeting of the Uruguay round Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC).

The Nigerian proposals, which received a lot of support from other third world countries, and which the chairman of the CPS, Alan Oxley, took note of in his summing up, however provoked a controversy, with the EEC expressing its opposition to the issue being recommended to the Montreal meeting for decision by Ministers.

The EEC, supported by U.S. and Sweden, suggested that the subject was a "sensitive issue", and also engaging the attention of several UN agencies like UNEP, FAO, WHO, etc.

In this light they said that the issue should not figure in the agenda of the Montreal meeting for decision by Ministers or for inclusion in the Uruguay round negotiations.

Their argument that other UN organisations were handling the issue, and their competence should be respected, was seized upon by India and others who underscored this stand and in effect contrasted it with the positions of these same countries an other issues, including those on the Uruguay round agenda.

In the Uruguay round, the U.S., EEC and other industrialised nations are pushing for actions in GATT on a wide range of subjects dealt with elsewhere including on intellectual property and services, etc.

At the instance of Sri Lanka and Nigeria, the question of exports of domestically prohibited goods was included in the GATT work programme adopted by the 1982 GATT Ministerial meeting.

But like all issues brought on GATT agenda or work programme by third world countries, for a long time it received no attention.

In November 1986 however, the third world countries again pressed for GATT action, and consultations were set in motion in pursuance of a decision of the GATT Contracting Parties in November 1986, after the launch of the Uruguay round.

Since then GATT deputy director-general Carlyle has been chairing the consultations, and he reported on it to the CPS session, outlining in effect the views of the various protagonists, including the demand for actions in GATT by third world countries and the opposition to this from the major industrial nations.

In the separate note circulated to the CPS session Monday, Nigeria has suggested there should be negotiations for a separate agreement or a code of conduct in GATT on the subject.

A separate agreement, Nigeria said, could be on the lines of the Tokyo round agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).

The regulations governments issue prohibiting sale, severely restricting or controlling sale or withdrawing from sale products that are considered to be dangerous to public health and safety are technical regulations, Nigeria has pointed out in this connection.

GATT negotiations should be held to elaborate a separate agreement governing trade aspects of transactions relating to such products.

The new rules could take account of already existing GATT obligations such as under article X, which requires GATT contracting parties to publish their administrative and trade regulations, and article XX (D) which enables exporting and importing countries to take measures considered necessary for the protection of "human, animal or plant life or health", even if they might not be otherwise consistent with GATT.

The agreement Nigeria has suggested, should cover all products which in the domestic market of a country are prohibited from being sold, severely restricted or controlled, or withdrawn from sale, or which are not permitted to be sold on the ground that "approval for sale" has not been obtained.

It should also cover all industrial, toxic and other wastes whose disposal in the domestic market is severely restricted or controlled.

The agreement could also cover exports of plants and other capital goods or processes, subject to severe restrictions in the exporting country on the ground that without strict security rules they could be dangerous to public health and life.

GATT, Nigeria said, should not be involved in technical work being done in UN, UNEP, WHO and FAO and other regional organisations on establishing systems for notification, exchange of information and/or preparation of registers for such substances.

But, among other things, the GATT agreement should contain undertakings:

--To encourage development of schemes for notification and exchange of information,

--To participate effectively in such schemes,

--To undertake to publish promptly all laws, regulations etc relating to such products in accordance with GATT article X, establish focal paints in each country where information could be obtained, and notify GATT secretariat of the official journals where such notifications are published and the focal points.

The agreement should also require its participants to undertake to issue export licences for all products whose sale or disposal is banned in domestic market on grounds of public health or hazard, and permit exports only after obtaining the "prior informed consent" of the relevant controlling authorities in the importing country.

In all other cases, the authorities issuing export licences should inform the concerned authorities in the importing country that the licence was being issued, so that the importing country would have an opportunity to decide whether it should be permitted to be imported.

The Nigeria paper also called for suitable provisions for measures relating to transhipment, and transit through other countries and re-exports.