[ International coference on world shipping held in Seoul ]

The seminar on the international trade relations and world shipping, j
oint conference of Korea Maritime Institute and International Associat
ion of Maritime Economists, held at Seoul on June 9-10th.
The international conference, which drew about 200 people from 13 coun
tries including Korea, was cooganized by Korea Matitime Institute and
the International Association of Maritime Economists(IAME).
Kim Chol-yong, administrator of the Korea Maritime and Port Administra
tion, delivered a welcoming speech at the opening session.
At first, H.E. Haralambides, a professor at Erasmus University of the
Netherlands, made the remarks on the opening day of a two-day conferen
ce on international trade relations and world shipping.
“A strict application of the principles of the General Agreement on T
ariffs and Trade (GATT) would have negative effects on less developed
countries(LCDs) in the shipping and port industry, Traditional maritim
e nations, however, would benifit from the liberization of sector” he
said.
Haralambides tried to estimate the effects that the most important GAT
T principles such as most-favored-nation(MFN), national treatment(NT),
market access and sudsidies and antidumping would have on shipping an
d ports.
“The issue immediately arising with respect to the MFN principleis th
at of cargo sharing. Unconditional application of the MFN clause in ma
ritime transport could mean that all countries who exercise cargo shar
ing should immediately or gradually phase out all or some of their pra
ctices, or otherwise extend cargo reservation and/or sharing priviledg
es to other parties,” he said.
The professor predicted that if all kinds of cargo reservation are pha
sed out immediately, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for LDCs
to participate in maritime transport, which is contrary to the princi
ple of increasing the participation of developing countries.
Under a strict implementation of NT, any restrictive measures in favor
of domestic shipping should either be removed or extended th foreign
shipping companies.
For LDCs, the professor said, this would mean a futher reduction of th
e demand for their national fleets, if they are not competitive enough
.
According to Hralambides, this also means the removal of any discrimin
atory charges and taxes levied against foreign flag ships mainly by th
e LDCs.
“Thus, although the effects could be negative for many LDCs, traditio
nal maritime nations would benefit as they are the victims of discrimi
natory charges and taxes,” he said.
Market access implies the establishment of a commercial presence in fo
reign countries and the right to provide services.
If the provisions of NT and market access are strictly implemented and
at the same time all protectionist measures are abolished completely,
LDC shipping may suffer significantly, he said.
“This is not in conformity with the other articles of the General Agr
eement on Trade in Services (GATS) framework, notably with the princip
le of increasing participation of developing countries.”
A standstill commitment which would prevent the introduction of new re
strictive mesaures, within a given period of time, may be an acceptabl
e compromise, Hralambides said, adding that during that time LDC shipp
ing companies will have to strengthen themselves and adjust in order t
o compete with others under free and fair terms.