Apr 6, 1989
UNCERTAINTIES MASKER UNDER STUDIED AIR OF OPTIMISM.
GENEVA, APRIL 4, BY CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN – The United States, the European Communities and the GATT Director-General on Tuesday appeared to go out of the way to project a studied air of optimism about the Uruguay round talks and the meeting of its trade negotiations committee Wednesday. But beneath this air of optimism, presented at three separate press conferences, it was also apparent that there were many uncertainties. The GATT Director-General Arthur Dunkel for example said the Uruguay round and the general agreement as a contract were two different things that the latter was and would continue whatever the outcome of the TNC meeting this week. This remark left the impression that Dunkel was leaving open the possibility of further deadlocks. Meanwhile at a meeting of the informal third world group Tuesday night, a large number of countries spoke up supporting the Brazilian amendments to the Dunkel text on TRIPS. Informal consultations among some key delegations Tuesday night, apparently did not narrow down the south-north divisions on this issue. At their press conferences Tuesday, the EEC and the U.S. also appeared to be attempting to present a picture of their being near agreement on agriculture and thus try to escape any responsibility for failure at the TNC meeting this week. Other sources said that while they were near agreement on long-term reform issues, there were considerable differences between U.S. and EEC. and between the two and the Cairns Group and other participants on the issues of short-term freeze and disciplines. At another press conference, Brazilian delegate, Amb. Rubens Ricupero, who is also the chairman of the informal third world group in GATT, told newsmen that from what third world delegates said at their group meeting Monday night, it would appear they were far from agreements on crucial issues in textiles, safeguards, agriculture and TRIPS. On Tuesday evening, other third world sources reported that the consultations on textiles and safeguards remained stalled, one that the agricultural talks had also been suspended. At his press conference, GATT Director-General Arthur Dunkel, who chairs the official level meetings of the TNC spoke of the important work now in progress in the consultations to achieve a consensus, and the "extraordinarily constructive atmosphere" in which everyone was working. However, Dunkel also drew a distinction between the Uruguay round processes under way and the general agreement and its activities, and said "whatever happens in the next hours and days, an the one side there is the GATT and the contract exists. It is alive and will remain there". "The Uruguay round has the aim of developing and extend the present agreement. These are two different things". Asked what interpretations should be out on this distinction being drawn, in terms of the outlook far the TNC meeting, Dunkel said journalists could interpret it for themselves. Asked about the effect on GATT of a failure at the TNC to reach a consensus, Dunkel said this was hypothetical. He however went an to note the speculation that if there was no total success in the mid-term review, there would be no more general agreement, and said that as in any other negotiations. GATT would change only when the results of the negotiations were there and could be translated into GATT. So long as no agreement had been reached, there would be no changes in GATT. But two years after the launch of the Uruguay round, governments had agreed to bring about changes in the GATT, for example on dispute settlement procedures and in surveillance of trade policies. There was an inter-pay between the Uruguay round and GATT, but in the sense that the Uruguay round was making progressive changes in GATT. But GATT would still be there "even if we have ups and downs in the negotiations", Dunkel said. Referring to the mandate given to him by the Montreal ministerial meeting to hold consultations in the four areas (textiles, safeguards, agriculture and trade-related intellectual property rights), Dunkel said he had interpreter the mandate to mean that he should work in a way that Governments would be in a position to have a basis for negotiations. He had presented four drafts as a basis for negotiations, and consultations were taking place since Friday on these four papers. "We have reached a point where we know what remains to be done to reach a consensus ... we are moving step by step. But I would not like to leave the impression we are playing with words or concepts. We are working guidelines for negotiations on issues that have to do with the real world outside. We want to do a good job, not paper over difficulties".