B4-0464/94

Resolution on the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the future activities of the WTO

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolutions of 22 January 1993 on environment and trade, 9 February 1994 on the introduction of a social clause in the unilateral and multilateral trading system and 24 March 1994 on the outcome of the Uruguay Round of GATT multilateral trade negotiations and its resolution of 24 March 1994 embodying the recommendations of the European Parliament to the Commission concerning the negotiations in the Trade Negotiations Committee of GATT on an agreement on a Trade and Environment Work Programme,

-having regard to its assent to the conclusion of the results of the Uruguay Round,

-having regard to the opinion of the European Court of Justice of 15 November 1994 on the legal nature and legal basis of the Uruguay Round treaties,

-having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Decision bringing into force simultaneously the acts implementing the results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations (COM(94)0414),

A.whereas the new WTO is not subject to any parliamentary control,

B.whereas further improvements to the GATT, such as the inclusion of social and environmental clauses, can be achieved in the new WTO only by the unanimity principle,

1.Notes with satisfaction that for the first time the European Parliament has been given the opportunity of ratifying the outcome of a multilateral round of negotiations;

2.Hopes that, after it has given its assent pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 228(3) of the EC Treaty, the ratification procedures for the implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round by the Union, its Member States and the other parties to the GATT can be concluded promptly to enable the World Trade Organization (WTO) to commence its work, as planned, on 1 January 1995;

3.Notes with satisfaction that the creation of the WTO at last completes the structure of international economic organizations which began after the Second World War with the setting up of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank;

4.Believes, as a consequence of the opinion of the European Court of Justice of 15 November 1994, that it is essential for the Commission, Council and European Parliament to enter into negotiations forthwith on the conclusion of an interinstitutional agreement defining more accurately the role of the European Union in the WTO;

5.Emphasizes in particular in this context the need for the acquis of the common commercial policy, especially decisions taken by a qualified majority, to be upheld and for the Union to act as one in the WTO;

6.Calls on the Commission to monitor closely the implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round by the Union's contracting parties in the WTO and to determine whether they abide by the spirit and letter of the agreements reached;

7.Notes in this connection that the legislative changes proposed by the Commission for the implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round conform to the commitments entered into; calls on the Council to adopt Parliament's amendments to these proposals;

8.Expresses its dissatisfaction at the fact that the proposed legislative changes for implementing the Uruguay Round results were not forwarded to it until the end of October, making proper debate by Parliament before the end of the year virtually impossible;

9.Hopes that the deadlines provided for in the rules on commercial protective measures will be applied as soon as the Commission has provided appropriate staff, and refers in this connection to the decision taken during the budgetary procedure for 1995 to increase staff numbers for these services;

10.Refers to the institutional innovation whereby the European Union as well as its Member States is a member of the WTO, and believes that shared representation at international level of the interests of the Union and its Member States as a reflection of the common commercial policy is a desirable long-term objective;

11.Anticipates that the WTO's strengthened dispute settlement procedure will result in a more objective view being taken in trade conflicts, but also points out that decisions taken by this procedure will be addressed to the WTO's contracting parties and cannot be applied directly in Community law;

12.Stresses that it is essential, if only for reasons to do with the single internal market, for the Union to adopt a common line even in those areas of the WTO's activities which are not the exclusive responsibility of the Union;

13.Calls, therefore, on the Member States of the EU to accept the Commission as the sole representative of the Union in all areas of activity of the WTO;

14.Is concerned at the investigation into possible unfair commercial practices launched by the US trade representative pursuant to Article 301 of the US Trade Act in connection with the EC's common organization of the market in bananas, and points out that applying unilateral protective measures is in violation of the undertakings made by the US when it signed the Marrakesh Final Act;

15.Is concerned about the protectionist tendencies in the newly elected US Congress and is particularly critical in this context of suggestions in the Congress that the US might withdraw from the WTO if decisions not in its interests were taken;

16.Seeks to be represented at the WTO's biennial ministerial conferences by a delegation with observer status, as was the case at the last GATT ministerial conferences, and to be constantly and fully informed by the Commission in the meantime and insists on the greatest possible transparency of the WTO's activities and on obtaining the assent of the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 228(3) of the EC Treaty to any decision taken within the WTO;

17.Hopes that satisfactory results can be achieved in the financial services and telecommunications sectors before the end of the first half of 1995 at a multilateral level during the current negotiations in order to facilitate a comprehensive opening up of the markets in these important service sectors;

18.Is concerned at the sluggish progress of the talks on reviewing the GATT agreement on civil aircraft aimed at reaching an international agreement on more stringent rules for direct and indirect state subsidies; regrets the disappointing results of the bilateral agreement on civil aircraft between the US and the EU and does not therefore see it as an adequate basis for a multilateral arrangement;

19.Calls, in this connection, on the US Administration, when implementing the bilateral agreement on civil aircraft, to provide the Commission with all the information it requires to monitor US compliance with the agreement;

20.Believes, despite the current recovery in worldwide demand for steel products, that a multilateral agreement on trade in steel is essential to enable the main producer countries to achieve a planned and socially acceptable reduction in worldwide overcapacities;

21.Points to the great economic significance of the GATT agreement on public procurement and to the bilateral agreements between the European Union and the US which go beyond GATT, whereby suppliers from the Union will be granted access to the public supply markets of most of the states of the US, to major public service corporations and to supraregional airports and seaports and calls on the Commission to pursue these objectives at the forthcoming meetings of the WTO;

22.Calls on the Commission to ensure compliance with the reciprocity in the opening up of markets which forms part of the bilateral EU-USA procurement agreement;

23.Emphasizes the need for the WTO at last to link trade issues to environmental, social, consumer and animal protection issues with the aim of accommodating conflicting interests and insists that WTO decisions must on no account be permitted to threaten existing international or EU standards;

24.Urges the Commission to secure a moratorium on GATT/WTO challenges to such legislation in order to facilitate constructive discussion within the Trade and Environment Committee (TEC), to press for maximum transparency in this committee and to report immediately and then annually thereafter on progress being made with these matters;

25.Hopes that the work of the WTO in respect of trade and the environment will result in an improvement in the multilateral system of trade which will help reconcile the worldwide trend towards a greater division of labour with the objectives of environmentally compatible development;

26.Considers that to this end the WTO must cooperate with international organizations concerned with the environment and development, such as the Commission on Sustainable Development and the United Nations Environmental Programme;

27.Calls, in this connection, on the members of the WTO to examine the possibility of using Article XX(b) of the GATT as the basis for commercial protection measures in instances where one contracting party seeks to acquire commercial advantages through the systematic violation of internationally agreed environmental standards; considers that the WTO should also examine the possibility of introducing an improved system for investigating and regulating disputes that would make it possible at the same time to avoid using environmental measures for protectionist ends but also to support the efforts made by countries that want to ensure the harmonious development of their economies through the sustainable management of their resources;

28.Considers that the inclusion of a social clause based on the ILO Conventions on child labour, forced labour and trade union and negotiating rights should be placed on the future WTO's agenda and calls on the Commission and the Member States of the European Union to emphasize this question within the WTO;

29.Urges the WTO to work closely with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in this area;

30.Points to the effect of currency fluctuations on competition in foreign trade and calls on the WTO, in close cooperation with the IMF, to ensure that the reductions in customs duties agreed in the Uruguay Round cannot be undermined through competitive currency devaluations;

31.Calls, finally, on the Member States of the WTO to consider the extent to which elements of an international competition policy (such as merger control and abuse of dominant market positions) might be included in the world trade system, thereby reducing the need for recourse to trade protection measures;

32.Calls on the Commission to carry out a full assessment of the results of the Uruguay Round, including proposals to improve the situation of the developing countries in the international trading system, the conclusions of which would be taken into account when Lomé IV is revised;

33.Insists in this context on the need to fight social dumping resulting from trade; invites the European Union, its Member States and the other WTO members to insist on the consultation of trade unions (workers' representatives) and other interested organisations in social dumping cases resulting from trade;

34.Notes with interest the applications for membership of the WTO by a number of successor republics of the CIS and other former state-trading countries which have launched economic reforms to create a market economy, and the application by Taiwan;

35.Calls on the Commission to ensure, during accession negotiations, balanced conditions of accession in terms of the rights and obligations of the new WTO members;

36.Calls on the Council and the Member States to widen the powers of the European Court of Justice to enable it to scrutinize the findings in WTO disputes and rule on their compatibility with the WTO and the agreements on which it is founded and with the principles of Community law; insists upon the right of the European Union and its Member States to denounce the WTO Agreement in the event of repeated and arbitrary findings against the Union in WTO disputes;

37.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States and the Secretariat of the WTO.