WTO COUNCIL FOR GOODS APPROVES AGOA, CBERA AND

UNCLAS GENEVA 000259 EEB/TPP/MTAA FOR CRAFT PASS USTR FOR SHACKLEFORD USDA FOR FAS USDOC FOR ITA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD WTRO USTR BL SUBJECT: WTO COUNCIL FOR GOODS APPROVES AGOA, CBERA AND ATPA WAIVERS ¶1. Summary: On March 24, 2009 the CTG agreed to waive WTO MFN rules to allow the U.S. to grant preferential access to the U.S. for AGOA, CBERA and ATPA beneficiary countries. With some reluctance, Bolivia joined the consensus on these waivers. They expressed their hope that the U.S. will restore its ATPA preferences. This decision now goes to the General Council for final approval. End Summary ¶2. These three waivers have been pending before the CTG for almost three years. The principal difficulty up until now has been Paraguay's insistence to be included among the ATPA beneficiary countries. Last year's change of government in Paraguay resulted in a decision by Paraguay to withdraw its objections. ¶3. A new difficulty arose when Bolivia stopping receiving preferences last year due to reasons related to the drug enforcement requirements of the ATPA. Although Bolivia initially threatened to block the approval of these waivers unless its ATPA status was restored, in the end it decided to join the consensus. At the meeting the Bolivian ambassador made a long statement outlining Bolivia's drug eradication efforts. They cited a number of statistics from U.N. agencies that they claim support their position. She complained that the U.S. has never provided as much help to Bolivia as to other ATPA countries. Having lost its beneficiary status the situation is now much worse. The current U.S. position is contrary to the facts and is hurting Bolivia. She said Bolivia benefited greatly from ATPA and wants it restored. All ATPA countries should be beneficiaries. She concluded that, notwithstanding this fact, in a gesture of friendship to the Obama Administration, Bolivia has decided to join the consensus on approving the waivers. She expressed her hope that the current administration will correct the errors of the last administration. ¶4. Bolivia received support from several Members. Cuba said it shares Bolivia's concerns. Venezuela expressed solidarity. Ecuador expressed its sympathy. Peru hoped that a way can be found to help Bolivia. ¶5. The U.S. rep responded by expressing its appreciation for Bolivia's constructive approach. He said that the U.S. will be conducting a review of Bolivia's eligibility by the end of June. The U.S. assured Bolivia that it would conduct a fair and thorough review of Bolivia's compliance with the program's eligibility criteria. We welcomed any information in connection with this the upcoming review that Bolivia might want to supply. ¶6. On a separate agenda item, the CTG also approved Chairs for subsidiary bodies of the CTG as follows: Market Access -- New Zealand Agriculture - Uruguay S/PS - Argentina TBT - Israel TRIMs - Romania Anti-Dumping - Italy Customs Valuation - Pakistan Rules of Origin - Brazil Import Licensing - Tanzania Safeguards - Mauritius Subsidies - Lithuania State Trading - China ITA - Egypt ¶7. Turkey also distributed at the meeting a background paper on trade in textiles. Turkey has been trying for the last four years to get the WTO to study the issue of textile trade since the expiration of quota restraints under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing. Major exporting countries such as China and India have refused to allow any action on this issue. Turkey continues to receive support from textile exporting countries from the Caribbean and North Africa. At this meeting, the major exporters maintained their position that the WTO should not discuss issues related to individual sectors. The Chair summed up by concluding that there was no consensus on how to proceed and said the issue would appear on the agenda for the next meeting. ALLGEIR