Comments of the Joint Industry Group (JIG)
in Response to the
Solicitation of Public Comment Regarding
U.S. Preparations for the
World Trade Organization's Fourth Ministerial Meeting

This communication constitutes the response of the Joint Industry Group ("JIG") to the invitation for public comments issued by the Trade Policy Staff Committee (67 Fed. Reg. 53,142 March 19, 2002) in relation to general U.S. negotiating objectives as well as country and item-specific priorities for the negotiations and work program launched at the World Trade Organization's ("WTO") Fourth Ministerial Conference held in November 2001. The JIG may provide further comments as necessary.

JIG is a coalition of more than 160 companies, trade associations, professionals and businesses actively involved in international trade. We both examine and reflect the concerns of the business community relative to current and proposed international trade-related policies, actions, legislation, and regulations. We undertake to improve policies and procedures through dialogue with government agencies and the Congress. The Joint Industry Group represents over $350 billion in trade.

The JIG commends the Member governments of the World Trade Organization for the significant progress in previous ministerial rounds in addressing barriers to trade in goods. WTO The JIG urges the U.S. Government to continue to assign its highest trade policy priority to the implementation of these rules by our trading partners, and to pursue their enforcement vigorously, including through the use of WTO dispute settlement proceedings. The global business community can ill-afford a shift in focus and resources away from the full exploitation of the gains so hard-fought and won in the Uruguay Round.

The JIG recommends that, if the fourth session of the Ministerial Conference leads to the initiation of a new global trade round, WTO Members should set as their principal negotiating objectives the reduction of unnecessary costs related to customs formalities, the enhancement of transparency and the facilitation of commerce in the "old" area of trade in goods. Trade in goods will continue to form the bedrock of international commerce in much of the world for many years to come. Enhancing disciplines on government regulation at the border will greatly assist developing and developed countries alike to reap the benefits of global trade rules.

The following comments expand upon these basic themes in connection with the subject headings enumerated by the Committee in its solicitation of public comment. The Committee will recall that the JIG has provided comments previously in response to similar requests by the Committee with respect to preparations for the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference (66 Fed. Reg. 18, 142 April 5, 2001), the Third WTO Ministerial Conference (63 Fed. Reg. 44,500 August 19, 1998) and with respect to multilateral negotiations on government procurement issues (63 Fed. Reg. 68,327 December 10, 1998). The following comments reflect many of the unachieved objectives that were set forth in the JIG's earlier submissions.

(6) Singapore Work Program Issues

Under this heading, the Committee has requested comments regarding U.S. objectives to be considered in preparation for the Fifth Ministerial. The Committee has requested, in particular, comments addressing the work programs organized in conjunction with the four Singapore issues: 1) Trade and competition; (2) trade and investment; (3) trade facilitation; and (4) transparency in government procurement. The JIG comments will address improvements, if any, that might be sought through expansion of individual work programs, or through negotiations in any of these areas, or further progress with respect to implementation of these Agreements.

Trade Facilitation - The JIG strongly supports the work that has been conducted in the WTO on trade facilitation, and urges WTO Members to continue such efforts in the future.

In particular, WTO Members must (a) evaluate the benefit of integrating technical assistance and capacity building efforts in ensuring the continued and secure flow of goods; (b) analyze the impact of customs-related barriers to trade on WTO commitments; and (c) promote and coordinate the development and implementation of initiatives to simplify trade procedures, including those under the auspices of the World Customs Organization and the G-7 countries. In this regard, the U.S. Government should ensure that symposia with private sector representatives continue to be held in Geneva periodically to facilitate the dialogue of the private sector with governmental officials.

The integration of the trade's expertise in developing procedures to guarantee the secure facilitation of trade through technical assistance and capacity building should be an immediate focus of attention for WTO member countries. The JIG urges the U.S. Government and the WTO to lend assistance in promoting continued development of sound initiatives that address the new challenges within the realm of trade facilitation. Additionally, the U.S. Government should urge the WTO member nations to recognize trade facilitation as a pertinent and timely issue.

It must be clear, however, that any WTO work program on trade facilitation must have as its ultimate objective the creation of binding, enforceable rules. The rules-based approach to trade problems is the hallmark of the WTO (and the GATT before it), and distinguishes it from other international institutions in which important work on trade facilitation is ongoing. The WTO must take into account and build upon the work of these other institutions. But it is only through the creation and oversight of enforceable rules affecting customs operations that the WTO can make a meaningful contribution in this area -- for traders, for governments, and for consumers. In this light, the JIG will discuss further the need to examine GATT Articles VIII and X with a view to the development of a new understanding on the interpretation and implementation of those provisions.

Transparency in Government Procurement - The JIG notes the progress made by the Working Group on Transparency on Government Procurement in advance of the Third Ministerial Conference, and that Members have agreed to identify the elements of a possible agreement, but have not yet agreed to move to conclude such an agreement. The JIG fully supports the efforts of the United States to reach consensus during the Fourth Ministerial Conference to conclude negotiations expeditiously thereafter.

GATT 1994 Articles VIII and X - The JIG considers Article X to be the foundation of all GATT rules on trade in goods, requiring that Member governments ensure transparency and due process in customs procedures. Without the strict adherence to these fundamental principles, none of the other disciplines on government regulation of trade in goods would be meaningful. GATT Article VIII:1(c) recognizes the need to minimize the incidence and complexity of import and export formalities and for decreasing and simplifying import and export documentation requirements.

The JIG believes that compliance with, and enforcement of, Article X obligations by our trading partners has not been sufficient to meet the needs of the global marketplace. Although the provisions of GATT Article X have been in force for more than 50 years, the broad language of Article X appears to have made it difficult for WTO Members (and GATT 1947 contracting parties before them) to enforce violations and seek meaningful changes in country practices. Moreover, WTO Members have not acted on the need to simplify customs formalities and documentation requirements as expressed in Article VIII:1(c).

Accordingly, the JIG applauds the efforts of the United States (as reported in USTR's 2000 Annual Report at page 94) to seek consensus among Members to put at the core of future work on trade facilitation the articulation of GATT 1994 Articles VIII and X. Indeed, as the JIG recommended in its 1998 comments to the Committee, the U.S. Government should pursue the negotiation in the WTO of a formal understanding on the interpretation and implementation of GATT 1994 Articles VIII and X. The understanding could be a specialized Annex 1A agreement, such as the existing agreement on customs valuation, or it could be similar in nature to the understandings developed during the Uruguay Round that became part of the GATT 1994.

The objective in negotiating an understanding on these GATT articles would be to create concrete, practical disciplines that would be enforceable under the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes. In this regard, the JIG recommends that WTO Members develop rules on data collection, timely release of goods, transparency of the customs clearance process, and administrative appellate procedures.