[asia-apec 1518] GATT Watchdog on Singapore FTA

[APEC Monitoring Group]

Singapore High Commissioner to meet with GATT Watchdog
Press Release GATT Watchdog 17/08/00

Singapore High Commissioner to meet with GATT Watchdog regarding
controversial free trade agreement


GATT Watchdog will tomorrow meet with Singapore’s High Commissioner to New
Zealand, Mr Tan King Jin, about the controversial “closer economic
partnership” free trade agreement being negotiated between the two
governments.


“We wrote to the Director of the Trade Division in Singapore’s Ministry of
Trade and Industry and the High Commissioner in July, seeking a copy of the
text of the agreement which the New Zealand Government has refused to
release. The High Commission contacted us and set up this meeting. Given the
anti-democratic way in which the New Zealand government continues to handle
trade negotiations, we congratulate the Singapore High Commissioner for
taking the initiative to meet with us while he is in Christchurch on
 Friday,” says Aziz Choudry of GATT Watchdog.


“The text must be made available now – before negotiations are complete. The
New Zealand government cannot attack critics of trade and investment
liberalisation for speculating about the implications of this agreement
based on what is known of the contents and yet at the same time refuse to
release the text.


Under pressure, even the National Government released the draft text of the
MAI and a range of official documents relating to the failed agreement
during 1997 and 1998 while negotiations were still taking place. What is the
current government scared of?”


“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade clearly sees this as a first step
towards a much larger CER/ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement. That is all the
more reason why it should be subject to genuine analysis and rigorous
scrutiny about its implications for New Zealand.”


“New Zealand claims to be a democracy. We find it unacceptable that
decisions which will impact on New Zealand policy choices are not open to
debate until negotiations have concluded when it will be far too late to
really change anything. The Treaty of Waitangi also requires Maori to be
co-participants in decisions affecting this country and yet they have been
effectively excluded. It is simply not good enough that the New Zealand
Government will not release the text until Cabinet has signed off on it.”


ENDS