USA: U.S ENDS INTERNATIONAL BICKERING BY GIVING SUPPORT TO E.U CANDIDATE RENATO RUGGIERO, TO HEAD WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION(WTO)

Record ID: 639770

  • Title: USA: U.S ENDS INTERNATIONAL BICKERING BY GIVING SUPPORT TO E.U CANDIDATE RENATO RUGGIERO, TO HEAD WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION(WTO)
  • Date: 21st March 1995
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MARCH 21, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV/ZOOM IN UNITED STATES (U.S.) TRADE REPRESENTATIVE MICKEY KANTOR AND EUROPEAN UNION (EU) CANDIDATE RENATO RUGGIERO ENTERING CONFERENCE ROOM/SHAKE HANDS (3 SHOTS) 0.21 2. SV KANTOR SPEAKING (ENGLISH) 0.53 3. SV MEDIA 0.58 4. SV KANTOR SAYING "WE ARE HAPPY HE WILL IMPLEMENT THE URUGUAY ROUND OF ACCORDS (ENGLISH) 1.13 5. SV MEDIA 1.17 6. SV RUGGIERO SAYING "I COMMIT MYSELF TO BE THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ALL THE CONTRACTING PARTIES. MY MISSION IS TO BUILD MY CREDIBILITY - " (ENGLISH) 2.08 SEQ.2: TRANSCRIPT: KANTOR: " THE U.S IS ANNOUNCING TODAY THAT IOT WILL SUPPORT MR. RUGGIERO AS THE FIRST DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE WTO AFTER EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIOINS WITH OUR TRADING PARTNERS, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, THE U.S HAS DECIDED THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE WTO AND THE U.S AS WELL AS OUR TRADING PARTNERS, THAT WE MAY FORM A CONSENSUS AROUND MR RUGGIERO'S CANDIDACY." Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 5th April 1995 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVACLR6HA1SG40O1RR148FAUMOHG
  • Story Text: The United States (U.S.) on Tuesday (March 21) ended months of international bickering over who will head the new World Trade Organisation by throwing its support behind the European Union's (EU) candidate, Renato Ruggiero.

    U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said the administration decided to drop its opposition to the former Italian trade minister because the contest had dragged on for too long.

    Kantor said the delay had developed into a "hemispheric impasse which was not in anybody's interest." Washington shifted its position on Ruggiero after intensive talks with a number of U.S. trading partners.

    Kantor said it was agreed Ruggiero would serve only one four-year term as director general of the new global trading body which took over the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in January. It also was agreed the next World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief would be a non-European, Kantor said.

    The move clears the way for Ruggiero to become the first long-term director general of the WTO, which has 127 present and pending members.

    Ruggiero told a new conference his first concern was to implement fully all the commitments that had been made during years of negotiations on the new GATT accord which created the WTO.


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