DOHA, Qatar-The best
thing about trade is that it led Ronald
Saborio Soto, 39, Costa Rica's Ambassador
at the WTO, to his wife. Stationed in Geneva
since 1990, he was named Ambassador to
the permanent mission of the World Trade
Organization nine years ago. That was when
he met Maria Perez, his most important
partner in trade.
"Trade
and commerce lead to good things, both in the professional
and the personal realm," he said, referring to
how he met his wife, who is a Spaniard, and works with
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD). As he awaited the outcome in Doha, he reflected
on his life and his country's agenda within the WTO.
Costa Rica is the
most prosperous and peaceful of Central American
countries. It came to Doha
with a clear objective: To contribute to a new
round of negotiations. "For us there's no
doubt that a new round of talks would contribute
a to the global economic growth, and for our country
it would also contribute to our development." As
the only nation in Central America that did not
suffer serious civil war or unrest in recent decades,
its tropical rainforests and beaches are renowned
among visitors as an environmentally conscious
place.
But it wasn't such
a simple decision for Soto to attend this meeting.
His wife did not attend
the fourth ministerial meeting, although they sometimes
travel to trade conferences together where she
represents the UN, and he Costa Rica. "But
on this occasion, because the atmosphere smelled
a little bit of danger, we discussed it and decided
it would be better if we both didn't attend," he
said. The couple's two young daughters are the
reason that Soto and his wife are taking stronger
security measures these days, he said.
Soto said Maria
Perez could have been the one to travel to Doha. "It's not because I'm the
man," he said. "No, no. We evaluated
the professional importance for each of us and
decided it was more important for me to come."
Steering the conversation back to the business
at hand, he said, Costa Rica was convinced that
the only way for the economy to grow was through
the liberalization of commerce.
Soto has worked
hard helping develop some of the new initiatives
in the package that deal with electronic
commerce, agriculture, facilitation of trade and "we
hope investment," he said. "Costa Rica,
has a ample, diverse agenda," Soto said. "It's
not one of the countries that has come here block
things, but to more to act as an impulse for change."
The WTO has enabled
Costa Rica to interact with bigger powers on
an equal footing, thanks to its
dispute settlement system, he said. "It functions
very well," he said. And the proof is in the
pudding.
"Costa Rica has brought disputes with both
the United States and the European Union before
the dispute settlement system," he said. "In
both cases we were able to win and the two most
important powers in the world, modified their rules
as a result," Soto said. "This would
never occur in a bilateral negotiation."
"Developing nations, some of which are opposed
to a new round, have the most to loose if no round
is established," he said. "Above all
we wouldn't understand if the developing countries
blocked the round," he said. "Commerce
is not detainable. Some people think that the WTO
drives globalization, but globalization has its
own course and strength."
But Costa Rica,
he said, did stand alongside developing countries
on other issues. "It was a good
initiative, but it's not complete," Soto said
in reference to the agricultural regulations established
at the Uruguay Round. Costa Rica is a member of
the Cairns Group, a coalition of agriculture-exporting
members that advocate to changes agriculture regulations.
The group first met in Cairns, Australia, which
is how they were bestowed their name. Their main
gripe: That agricultual goods are not treated the
same as industrial goods under current WTO agreements. "It
is our aspiration to establish rules that permit
this sector of agriculture producers to be oriented
by market regulation," he said.
Another piece missing
from the WTO, he said, is investments. "We
believe that investments have a direct relationship
like that of commerce,
and we think a multilateral agreement on investment
would provide an enormous security for investors
as well as those countries where the investments
are being made."
Soto was anxious,
however, as he waited into the night for the
talks to end. "Whatever the
outcome, we'll have a heavy work agenda when we
go home. It implies a few years of intense negotiations
on all themes to reduce the trade barriers that
remain."
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