| Series Title | European Voice |
|---|---|
| Series Details | 26/09/96, Volume 2, Number 35 |
| Publication Date | 26/09/1996 |
| Content Type | News |
|
Date: 26/09/1996 TRADE ministers, meeting to consolidate EU positions on trading issues before they face their partners at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Singapore in December, agreed that the WTO must remain the central, guiding force for open markets around the globe. They also agreed that they must orchestrate market openings to create the greatest potential for new jobs in Europe. MINISTERS called for the completion of work from the Uruguay Round, especially negotiations on freer movement for services, and the solidifying of a 1997-98 WTO work programme. They added that they wanted to encourage new countries to join the organisation, foster greater unity between the industrialised and the developing worlds, and ensure regional trade zones did not deny other WTO partners proper access to their markets. Urging their own governments to draw up details of their positions quickly, ministers said that they wanted their foreign affairs counterparts to agree final stances before the Singapore meeting. ON THE controversial subject of whether social standards should be taken up at the WTO, the EU seems to be backing down on its previous insistence that humane working conditions should be considered a trade subject. Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan hinted that the subject could remain the preserve of the International Labour Organisation instead. That would prevent the Singapore meeting from deteriorating into an argument over sweatshops. MINISTERS did, however, keep up their drive to link environmental conditions to trade. The Irish presidency said ministers made a priority of “better integration of environmental concerns into the WTO rules”. TEXTILE liberalisation proved to be a stumbling block to EU unity. Portuguese Minister Fernando Freire Sousa warned his country would fight anything which might harm its textile and clothing industry, and urged the EU not to bow to Asian and Latin American textile exporters' demands for better market openings in Europe. |
|
| Subject Categories | Trade |
