Background

On October 14, 1998, Latvia became the first Baltic state that joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), followed by Estonia on November 13, 1999. On May 31, 2001 the Republic of Lithuania became the 141st full-fledged member of the WTO. All the Baltic countries support the multilateral round of negotiations launched at Doha in November 2001, and consider the progress of the negotiations so far as satisfactory.

Latvia's Position on the Doha Round

On the issue of non-agriculture tariffs, Latvia supports a horizontal approach to the harmonization of non-agriculture tariffs, including harmonizing tariff structures across all non-agriculture products, as well as the elimination of tariff peaks and tariff escalation.

Taking into account the fact that Latvia has a relatively small difference between applied and bound tariff rates, the country supports the use of applied tariff rates as a base for negotiations.

Latvia supports all encompassing tariff reduction, recognizing the fact that Members with relatively high applied rates should be subject to proportionally larger tariff reduction.

Discussions on non-tariff barriers (licensing, product safety standards, certification procedures etc.) should be broadened and intensified in order to prevent negative impact of non-tariff barriers on trade liberalization.

Latvia supports free market access for products of Least-Developed Countries, facilitating the development of these countries in the global area.

In the Agriculture field, Latvia supports extending the application of the Peace Clause principle in order to ensure judicial guarantees of future subsidies, as well as to keep so called "blue subsidies" as a non-actionable subsidies category. The application of special safeguards should be eliminated, or their application could be continued only in case the equivalent usage of the benefits from these subsidies is ensured for all Members.

Regarding export subsidies, Latvia supports the establishment of stronger disciplines in the area of export credits and guarantees. Latvia considers that export support should be further decreased and in the agricultural agreement all export support regulations should be elaborated in order to escape trade-distorting consequences. As well, it is necessary to develop WTO regulations on food aid.

In respect to tariff quotas, Latvia supports the improvement of the administration procedures that would provide equivalent market access for all countries.

During the Doha Round, a common understanding on agriculture issues should be formed recognizing that agriculture has a multifunctional role, exceeding the limits of purely economical functions: social issues (employment), environment protection, preservation of traditional country landscape and life style.

Concerning the issues that relate to food quality and safety, measures and norms stipulated in the SPS Agreement should be used. More precise procedures for the specification of how importing countries assess equivalent measures in exporting countries should be established.

Regarding the negotiations on the tariff reduction for agriculture products, Latvia's position is that further reductions of tariffs should be continued.

In respect to non-actionable (e.g. green-box) subsidies, Latvia recognizes the necessity to supplement the list of non-actionable subsidies with subsidies related to the reconstruction of the economies in transition.

Latvia considers that the issue of Trade and Competition should be included in the agenda of the negotiations round. Latvia supports establishment of multilateral rules in the area of competition policy based on WTO core principles (transparency, non-discrimination etc.), ensuring the application of fair competition protection mechanisms in an extra-territorial manner, applying multilateral agreements, and effectively using the dispute settlement mechanism, that would regulate company mergers, abuse of monopoly position by cartels in investigation cases that relate not only to the territory of one country, but has distinct international character.

International co-operation is necessary among competition policy supervisory bodies in the process of application of competition rules. It would reduce conflicts and improve effectiveness in respect to extra-territory application of multilateral rules.

Enforcement of competition rules in WTO would mostly facilitate protection of small and developing economies against competition restrictive practices. Enforcement of these rules and principles would ensure Latvia's involvement in international co-ordination processes of competition protection and would ensure modern competition policy in the future, which could protect domestic industry.

Latvia supports all-encompassing negotiations on Trade in Services within the new round, including all services sectors and modes of supply in order to prevent disproportion in the liberalization of services market in different countries thus ensuring that all Members deepen and broaden their commitments in market access and national treatment.

Similarly to the trade in goods, horizontal formulas shall be used in negotiations on liberalization of trade in services, in addition to the previously used offer-request method.

Regarding the liberalization of service market in the developing countries, it is necessary to broaden paragraph 4 of Article IV, taking into account the necessity to increase transparency in market access regulatory standards, licensing and other barriers as well as the elimination of unnecessary barriers thus improving investment environment in all countries. It is necessary to establish the rules for licensing the professional services what would provide Latvian specialists better possibilities to get into labour market of developed countries and would help to improve the legislative base regulating the arrival and residence and of highly qualified foreign specialists.

The increasing amount of foreign direct investment and its positive contribution to a country's economy and welfare make the Trade and Investment question highly important for Latvia.

Latvia supports establishment of rules regulating multilateral investment policy that would be favourable both for investors and host countries. Rules should provide a regime that would improve the investment climate in developing countries and countries in transition thus facilitating an increase in welfare, and the broadening of the world market. New investment rules should contain provisions only in respect to direct investment. Latvia considers that establishment of multilateral investment policy regulating rules would reduce the necessity of concluding bilateral agreements on investment facilitation and protection with many countries that are not subject to such agreements yet, including developing countries.

Latvia supports the establishment of rules that would contribute to Trade facilitation creating a safe and predictable trade system without ineffective and unnecessary export and import preventing circumstances. Simplified, harmonized and automatized procedures could reduce the amount of documentation required, and increase transparency based upon WTO non-discrimination and national treatment principles. These measures would be especially favourable for Latvia as a country in transition.

Latvia supports inclusion of more evolved provisions in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Developed states in cooperation with the respective international institutions would have to provide technical assistance to the developing countries and countries in transition. This would facilitate the development of their infrastructure, which would in turn promote a faster implementation of the country commitments.

In order to achieve effective implementation of international standards, the existent irregularities and inconsistencies in the definitions and conditions should be eliminated. Rules regulating goods marking procedures should be established, taking into account the non-discriminatory and free trade principles, as well as the ecological aspect.

In accordance with the EU position in respect to distinct articles of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), Latvia supports the position not to extend the transition period of application of paragraph 2 of Article 65 for the developing countries. The establishment of a harmonized register for wine, spirits and other products should be supported.

Latvia supports prolonging the moratorium about non-violation complaints (Article 64.2 of the TRIPs) in respect to the TRIPs Agreement, and the necessity of further investigation of concrete examples about the impact of non-violation complaints on implementation of the TRIPs agreement.

In the area of Electronic Commerce, Latvia considers that the sector shall be operating within the existing WTO legislation framework, as well as GATT and GATS rules. Also, Latvia is ready to support extending the moratorium (which was adopted during the Geneva Ministerial Conference) on all kinds of customs duties and payments in respect to electronic transactions.

On the issue of Trade and Environment, Latvia considers it is necessary to establish rules that would clarify the application of eco-labeling systems in order to prevent possible usage of this system for the purposes of protectionism, as well as to facilitate the exports of the ecologically clean Latvian products. Latvia supports the necessity of establishing rules that would clarify the legal link between WTO Agreements and Multilateral Environment Protection Agreements.

Latvia supports efforts of the International Labour Organisation in the area of developing international Labour Standards, and considers that this work shall be continued in the ILO, and not in the WTO.

Estonia's Position on the Doha Round

In the Doha round of negotiations Estonia's main fields of priority are agriculture, services and the Singapore issues (investments, competition policy, transparency in government procurement, and trade facilitation). Estonia also takes into account its future accession to the EU. In agriculture, Estonia considers it essential that non-trade concerns be taken into account in the negotiations.

In the area of services, Estonia assesses its commitments taken at the accession to the WTO as liberal, and expects other WTO Members to liberalize their existing commitments. The service sectors of particular interest to Estonia are business services, construction, distribution, environmental services, financial services, and maritime transport services.

Estonia considers it important that the 5th Ministerial Conference in Cancun decide on the negotiating modalities for the Singapore issues. Among these issues, the most important for Estonia are investment and trade facilitation.

Together with other countries in transition, Estonia has requested that the negative impact of transition difficulties be taken into account when imposing new obligations concerning the lowering of customs ceilings, and has supported a similar proposal in regard to domestic subsidies.

Lithuania's Position on the Doha Round

For Lithuania, the most important issues are the market access for goods and services; agricultural support policy; customs valuation; protection of intellectual property rights (TRIPS); bindings of customs tariffs; and support for the agricultural sector.

The WTO affords Lithuania an opportunity to negotiate for better trade conditions with Russia, and to seek the elimination from the Russian side of its discriminatory trade regime, where it affects Lithuanian trade prospects. Lithuania and the two other Baltic states consider that Russian accession to WTO is also a good opportunity to improve the conditions for doing business with Russia, and to make in this way the Russian trade regime more stable and predictable.

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