Japan on WTO agenda

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Oct 20 06:54:15 PDT 1999


Financial Times - October 20, 1999

JAPAN: Calls for revision of WTO declaration By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo

The Japanese government yesterday stepped up pressure on the World Trade Organisation to revise its draft declaration for the forthcoming ministerial meeting in Seattle.

Keizo Obuchi, the prime minister, asked Mike Moore, director-general of the WTO, who is on a visit to Japan, to reconsider the wording of the document. The Japanese government believes it does not fairly represent the views of member states and called it "unsatisfactory".

"It is difficult to accept the chairman's first draft which was neither neutral nor well balanced and we understand a new draft will be circulated soon," Mr Obuchi said.

"Japan fully supports the view that the next round of WTO negotiations should be comprehensive, covering a sufficiently broad-based agenda, in order to enable the WTO to properly address the above issues and to respond to the various concerns of all members in a well-balanced manner," he added.

"The next round, therefore, should be comprehensive, including not only market access improvement, but also the strengthening of the WTO rules and disciplines." The ministerial meeting in Seattle next month will kick-start the next round, which begins next year.

Japan is concerned that the draft declaration does not include any specific reference to anti-dumping and investment rules.

Mr Obuchi also noted the need to address the issue of multilateral rules on foreign direct investment and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Following European moves on GMOs, the Japanese government recently introduced labelling requirements for products containing GMOs, in response to consumer concerns.

The most contentious issue is likely to be agriculture. The next round pits importing countries, such as Japan and the European Union, against exporters such as the US and the Cairns group. Importing regions argue that WTO discussions on trade in agricultural products should address market access as well as the impact on the global environment and the sustainable use of exhaustible natural resources.



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