MSG068G/01E ECUADOR-TRADE: Free Trade to Bring Heavier Competition

QUITO, Dic 13 (IPS) - Ecuador must develop and learn to compete in large markets by the year 2005when the hemispheric free trade zone called for at the recent Americas Summit is to be introducedwarned business leader Gustavo Pinto.

"Otherwise, we would become an import-centred nation, without foreign currency to buy what we need. In order to export, one must offer quality, prices and opportunity. It is not just an issue of production, but of producing well," he said.

According to Pinto, "now is the time for businessmen, workers and the government to move the country toward development," for which a stable legal, judicial and economic framework will be necessary.

He also criticised Ecuador's delay in joining the economic liberalisation process.

"Ecuador is just now becoming a serious member of the Andean Pact, as global trends force countries to form hemispheric agreements. Hopefully, we won't repeat our experience with GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), which we are entering late and under the worst possible conditions," he said.

Although Ecuador began the process of joining GATT under former President Rodrigo Borja (1988-1990), current leader Sixto Duran Ballen described the negotiations as "extremely complex."

If unable to enter GATT, the South American nation will face increased difficulties in joining the World Trade Organisation, which is to replace GATT in January.

Pinto stressed the importance of negotiation, saying, "we don't yet know the final text of what was agreed (at the Americas Summit) but we must be very careful in the technical negotiations of the next few years."

Meanwhile, Ecuadorian Industry and Trade Minister Jose Vicente Maldonado said Tuesday that complementary production would be the greatest advantage to forming a free trade zone with the United States.

While the Andean Pact suffers from internal competition, Maldonado pointed out that "the United States does not produce the same things we do and we - because of our geographical location - produce goods that are not always available in their markets," he said.

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