Latin America Rejects
WTO Safeguard Mechanism
Latin American countries
rejected on Monday the
special safeguard
mechanism of the World
Trade Organization
(WTO), saying it damages
their export interests.
Venezuelan Industry and
Trade Minister William
Antonio Contreras said
that "we are not here to
block an agreement, but
to defend our interests
and to fulfill the
command of the round
that is the one of
developing."
"The political
responsibility of the
success (of the Doha
Round) is on the side of
the developed
countries," he said.
Contreras said that
beside Venezuela, India,
Nicaragua, Cuba and
Argentine and other
countries do not agree
with the proposal of the
WTO.
Uruguayan ambassador to
the WTO Guillermo Valles
said that if the
safeguard mechanism "is
not well built, it will
damage the export
interests of the
developing countries."
Uruguay will not accept
this mechanism if that
means to "go back to a
previous stage of the
Uruguay Round," the
round of negotiations
prior to Doha Round,
Valles said.
"We can't go back to our
countries and tell our
agriculture people that
we are worse now than
when the Uruguay Round
in terms of markets,"
Valles said.
Paraguayan ambassador to
the WTO Rigoberto Gauto
said that "we cannot
mortgage our future
accepting a measure like
this, and we also cannot
pay the cost of the
flexibilities for bigger
economies."
The Ministers from more
than 30 countries
gathered in Geneva,
Switzerland since last
week to finalize a
general agreement on
liberalizing agriculture
and industrial trade.
|
