RI asks WTO to increase aid to developing nations
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to increase its assistance to developing nations in dealing with increasing protectionism and maximizing the benefit of free trade agreements now still under discussion.
"We wish the WTO could make an integrated program (to facilitate trade) to ensure the achievement of the target," Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said here on Wednesday.
She said the WTO could use the funds from donor countries or other organizations providing funds to implement the trade facilitation program for developing nations.
"We want the program to be target-oriented. If a country gets a market access but cannot take its products there because of an infrastructural problem an infrastructure program must be the one that is given. Or if it is a customs agency which is not ready they must give a technical assistance for developing a good customs system," she said.
The minister said developing nations also needed technical assistance to deal with dumping accusations and implementation of safeguard policy by developed nations recently.
"WTO has revealed that the number of investigations on anti-dumping and safeguard policy in 2008 carried out by developed as well as developing nations had increased. The tendency has been on the rise," she said.
The increasing anti-dumping and safeguard policy investigations would burden developing nations because their capacity to deal with the problems is still low.
"Indeed they can protest or conduct consultations and later refer them to the Dispute Settlement Body but they have to have the capacity for it," she said.
Mari hoped besides discussing prevention of increasing protectionism the WTO also needed to discuss extension of technical assistance programs with regard to dealing with anti-dumping accusations on developing nations and safeguard policy.
The 7th ministerial-level meeting in Geneva next week, in which Indonesia would be the vice chair, would discuss aid for trade, she said.
She said on the occasion she would direct the discussion on the issue so that the aid for trade could become an additional part of the Doha Round negotiations.
"We will fight so that the aid for trade would not be a single undertaking but a complementary part of the negotiations," she said.
She said the aid for trade must not have been a lip service but must become a concrete program that could increase the capacity of developing nations to maximize their access to open market and make them able to enjoy the results of the Doha Round negotiations expected to finish in 2010. (*)
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PubDate: 11/25/09 21:20
