Negotiations held in Geneva this week under UNCTAD auspices led on 13 March to the establishment of an International Jute Study Group. This legal instrument replaces the International Agreement on Jute and Jute Products, which expired 11 April 2000. (See press release TAD/INF/PR06.)
In closing the UN Conference on Jute and Jute Products, 2001 (Geneva, 12-13 March), UNCTAD Secretary-General Rubens Ricupero welcomed the new agreement, saying that its main innovation was its involvement of the private sector. The private sector had a potentially key role to play, for example by identifying sources of funding for the modernization of the jute industry and by developing new end-uses for jute, a biodegradable and renewable natural resource. In many respects the future would be increasingly determined by the growing interrelationship between trade and the environment, he added.
The establishment of the Group marked the culmination of intense efforts under way since April 2000, when it had been decided not to extend the 1989 Agreement further, said the president of the Conference, F. Leger (France).
The new entity succeeds the International Jute Organization, which was initially established under the first International Agreement (1982). In providing a framework for more effective international cooperation, the Group is intended to promote the expansion of international trade in jute and jute products by maintaining existing markets and developing new ones, including the introduction of new products and the development of new end-uses. It is also aimed at facilitating the improvement of structural conditions in the jute sector by enhancing productivity and quality and promoting the application of new processes and technologies. The Group, which may subsequently apply to be designated as an international commodity body, may undertake, sponsor or supervise projects designed to improve the economic well-being of the millions of persons working in the sector, especially in Bangladesh and India, the top two producing countries.
All States interested in the production or consumption of, or international trade in, jute and jute products may become members of the Group, which will be headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The highest authority will be the Council, which will meet at least once a year.
The new instrument will enter into force when States together accounting for 60% of trade (imports and exports combined) in jute and jute products have notified the United Nations Secretary-General of their provisional application or definitive acceptance of its provisions. Should the requirements for entry into force not be met by 31 December 2001, those States which have notified their acceptance or provisional application may decide to put its terms of reference into force among themselves. The Group will remain in force for eight years and may be extended for up to two periods of two years.
