The International Practice of the European Communities: Current Survey 1. GATT/World Trade Organization The Marrakesh Meeting By far the most momentous event in the first half of 1994 regarding GATT was the ministerial meeting at Marrakesh on 12-15 April 1994 during which the Uruguay Round texts were signed. Some slight changes were made to the texts adopted in December 1993. An American initiative prompted the renaming of the Multilateral Trade Organization as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Next Generation Issues Discussions since Marrakesh have focused on the implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements and on `next generation issues' (environment and trade, social policy and trade, etc.). The ministers at Marrakesh adopted a Decision which creates a Trade and Environment Committee within the WTO. This committee will deal with the relationship between trade and environmental issues. Further, the participants in the WTO agreed that the issue of labour rights and trade should be placed on the agenda of the Preparatory Committee that will be working in the months ahead to establish the WTO. Both developments have been heavily contested by many lesser developed countries, which see such policy issues as potentially protectionist developments from the side of the Western countries. Ratification Both in the United States and the EU the ratification of the Uruguay Round encountered delays, thereby endangering its entry into force on 1 January 1995. In the EU a dispute has arisen on the legal nature of the Uruguay Round agreements. While the Commission and Parliament maintain that the agreements should only be ratified by the Community, most Member States feel that the agreements contain points which do not fall within the competence of the Community. Hence they claim that the agreements are of a mixed nature. Related to this issue is the question whether the Community will be represented in the WTO by the Commission only or jointly by the Commission and the Member States. The Commission has referred the matter to the European Court of Justice for an advisory opinion, which is not expected before November 1994. This may make it difficult for the Community to have the agreements ratified by 1 January 1995. In the United States a budgetary problem has arisen. Because the reduced tariffs are expected to seriously decrease US tax revenue, the US administration has had the difficult task of finding supplementary funding. This has caused delays in the ratification procedure which have not yet been solved. Another issue on which disagreement exists within Congress is whether the President's fast-track negotiating authority should also cover trade-related labour and environmental issues.
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