CROATIA AND U.S. DISCUSS CROATIA'S WTO ENTRY BID

GENEVA, July 18 (Hina) - Delegations of Croatia and the United States met at World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva on Friday to discuss Croatia's bid to enter the WTO. The Croatian delegation said that the talks, which focused on the Croatian customs system, were very substantive, adding that the two sides were much closer in their views. According to the assessment of the US delegation, a high customs tariff for the protection of domestic agricultural production is the main obstacle to the swift admission of Croatia to the World Trade Organisation. For some products, the protective tariff reaches as much as 45 per cent. The situation with the customs protection of industrial products is much more favourable so that the two sides fully adjusted their views on some products. As regards information technology and the liberalisation of trade in computers, the US delegation made it clear that Croatia would have to sign an international agreement on information technology, which has recently been concluded in Singapore, if it wanted the United States to vote in favour of its admission to the WTO. Considering a firm US views on the need for privatisation of postal and telegraphic services, the two delegations agreed on a transitional period for the application of an international agreement on telecommunications. The Croatian delegation requested that a transitional period be determined to facilitate application of an agreement on the protection of intellectual property. (hina) vm 181857 MET jul 97