Jul 20, 1989

CHINA'S MEMBERSHIP OF TEXTILE SURVEILLANCE BODY PUT OFF.

GENEVA, JULY 10 (BY CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN)— The expansion of the membership of the textile surveillance body (TSB) under the Multifibre arrangement in order to give a seat to China has now been put off till at least the new year, according to GATT sources.

Under an agreement reached earlier this year, it had been agreed that the membership of the TSB, which oversees and monitors the MFA, and bilaterally concluded under it, and serves as an adjudicatory body in disputes in this sector, should be expanded from the present eight to ten, with one seat each to exporting and importing countries.

The expansion formula had been agreed to provide a seat to China, and as a result, Canada, which had been functioning as an alternate member, would have also got a seat.

Under the formula worked out, the amendment to the protocol was, to have taken effect if none of the signatories objected to it by august.

In the aftermath of the Chinese actions against the "pro-democracy movement", and the attempts of the western world to impose "sanctions" that would be costless to themselves, the U.S. and other industrial nations would appear to have pressed for putting off the expansion till the new year.

In consultations held in GATT Monday, this would appear to have been agreed to.

Technically, the decision taken was to extend till the end of the year, the time within which MFA signatories could say 'no' to the proposed expansion.

Third world sources said that China did not object to this, presumably because this was a minor matter as against the larger picture of China's relations with the west in the current context. In the light of this none of the other third world participants who generally object to 'trade sanctions for non-economic reasons' raised any objections either.

The U.S. and EEC similarly got the meetings of the GATT working party on China's resumption of GATT status, set for July 11-13 put off.

The latest GATT calendar of meetings, issued on July 10, has tentatively set dates for three more meetings this year – September 12-14, October 31-November 2, and December 12-14. But all these have been placed under square brackets, meaning there is no agreement yet.