The Government of Uruguay celebrated this Thursday (12.11.2019) the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of the GATT (acronym for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and the subsequent creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This round, the eighth since the beginning of the negotiations, began in September 1986 at the San Rafael Hotel, Maldonado.
After eight years of dialogue, the foundations were laid for the subsequent creation of the WTO on April 15, 1994 in the city of Marrakech, Morocco. The Uruguay Round was “the largest reform of international trade since World War II and the most ambitious trade liberalization in history.”", said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, at the event.
"As a member of the GATT since 1953 and founder of the WTO, Uruguay expresses in this organization its deepest vocation and attachment to multilateralism and the rules-based trade system.", the minister said. In this context, he recalled the work of the Uruguayan ambassador Julio Lacarte Muró. A room at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, bears his name in honour of his work in favour of international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Nin Novoa also mentioned Enrique Iglesias and Sergio Abreu, present at the ceremony, as two Uruguayan figures who contributed to the defense of these ideas characteristic of national history.
According to the official, the WTO guarantees the global trade system based on its three pillars: negotiation, transparency and dispute resolution. “Uruguay is aware of the challenges that this organization faces today, which are the logical result of the transformations that the world has experienced in these 25 years and, for this reason, our country closely follows the different proposals for reform of the Organization.", He said.
The celebration of the end of the Uruguay Round was held in Montevideo. Photo: WTO
The multilateral trade system is the last bastion against the "law of the jungle," said the head of the WTO, Roberto Azevedo.
The director pointed to technological transformation as a driving force behind changes in international trade. He recalled that productivity has reduced the workforce in traditional sectors, such as manufacturing, which could lose 80% of its jobs due to this challenge, which threatens employment much more than imports, he said.
For this reason, he stressed that Countries must engage in multilateral discussions to bring their positions closer together, with the trade system integrated into this discussion..
"The system is the last bastion between what we have today and the 'law of the jungle', Azevedo said. He warned that citizens around the world are seeing trade tensions increase uncertainty, causing investors to withdraw and, consequently, job losses.", Azevedo added.
«The updating of WTO rules is essential, in his opinion, to provide guarantees to the multilateral trading system. Agriculture, food security, digital economy, investment facilitation, services, small businesses, women's empowerment, are some of the issues highlighted by Azevedo. Uruguay participates in all WTO debates. said.
"As we celebrate 25 years since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, we commemorate a major milestone in the history of trade multilateralism. It is important to note that multilateralism does not magically make our differences and disagreements disappear, but it gives us the means to resolve them peacefully and cooperatively. Today we are experiencing great changes at great speed, transcending national borders. We need a global response.", the diplomat concluded.
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