Ladies
and Gentleman, Mr Chairman,The
Trade Policy Review Body is about to undertake its annual
review of developments in the international trading
environment and multilateral trading system. To assist, I
am pleased to present my report on major activities of
the WTO and significant policy issues affecting the
trading system. I hope the report enables you to engage
in a frank and open discussion on the state of the
multilateral trading system and where you want to take it
in future.
My
report confirms that the state of the world trading
environment is sound and that the multilateral trading
system is working well and contributing substantially to
current economic growth. My report also confirms that the
WTO as an organization is dynamic, focused and working
hard to advance the interests of its Members. This I
think drives home the point that our collective faith in
the system has never been in question. And nor should it
be, because it offers us the best opportunity to improve
the condition of our owners, the people.
Over
the past year, Members have worked hard to narrow their
differences. Seattle is now a part of our past. We have
learnt from it. We have moved on, wiser I hope, but no
less committed.
In
the past year, we have moved forward in a number of
concrete and positive ways, such as:
- starting
and advancing on schedule the mandated
negotiations on agriculture and services;
- establishing
a mechanism to consider implementation-related
issues and concerns;
- engaging
in constructive and positive dialogue on ways to
ensure the fuller participation of all Members in
the work of the WTO;
- improving
consultative procedures;
- giving
priority to the integration of Least-Developed
Countries and other low-income WTO Members into
the multilateral trading system to help them
secure the benefits that can be derived from it.
The
Secretariat has also been working hard. We are not only
continuing to assist Members in their regular activities,
which include the growing needs of the crucially
important dispute settlement system, we are also
reviewing the ways we carry out our tasks; we want to do
things better and more effectively. We are maintaining a
high level of activity in the area of technical
assistance and are exploring with Members the possibility
of expanding our efforts in this area. We are looking at
ways to facilitate the day-to-day participation of
non-resident and smaller Members in the work of the WTO.
And we have initiated an active programme of outreach; I
believe a vital role for the Secretariat is to help
people realise the vast benefits to be secured - for all
- by freeing up trade and further developing our system
of agreed trade rules and disciplines.
This
should not be difficult. The WTO has been, and continues
to be, a success. Consider the gains to the world economy
from the Uruguay Round. Consider the role played by the
WTO in keeping markets open in the wrenching aftermath of
the world financial storm in 1997-1998. Consider the
improvement in global economic activity seen in 1999 when
world trade reached $6,820 billion, representing a 29 per
cent rise on 1994 figures. Consider as well the trade
outlook for the current year which is estimated to rise
by a further 10 per cent, matching the best annual trade
growth in the 1990s. However, history teaches us never to
be complacent.
The
success of the WTO can be seen elsewhere as well. Thanks
to the GATS, the Agreement on Agriculture, the agreement
to eliminate the Multi-Fibre Arrangement and the
agreements on information technology, basic telecoms and
financial services, WTO disciplines apply to far more
sectors of world trade than the GATT did. Thanks to the
strengthening of the dispute-settlement mechanism, which
has considered over 200 cases since January 1995,
multilateral disciplines have brought greater stability
and predictability to trading relations. And thanks to
the rise in the WTO's membership to 140, and the
encouraging prospect of China's accession, the WTO is
ever closer to being a truly World Trade Organization.
Our
challenge is to maintain the momentum of liberalization
through the mandated negotiations on agriculture and
services and by guarding against increased barriers to
trade. The mandated negotiations are going well. But we
must guard against the stock-taking exercise next March
becoming a roadblock. It is also disturbing that over 400
anti-dumping and countervailing investigations were
initiated last year, up from only 166 in 1995. It is
worrying that, according to the OECD, producer support
estimates for agriculture are rising again. It is
disappointing that the benefits of eliminating the
Multi-Fibre Arrangement are taking so long to be
realised. And there is a growing danger that bilateral
and plurilateral trade deals, whose huge rise is detailed
in my report, could come to be seen as a substitute for
multilateral liberalization rather than a complement to
it.
A
second challenge is to continue to address and resolve
the issues and concerns related to implementation. We
will be considering implementation issues in depth at the
special sessions of the General Council next week, where
draft decisions will be on the table. I urge all Members
to approach these decisions in the same constructive
spirit that has marked this process so far. These issues
are an important element of our work programme; with
reason and respect on all sides they can help us move
forward. May I also take this opportunity to thank the
Chairman and my colleagues in the Secretariat for their
continuing hard work in this area.
A
third challenge is to ensure the full participation of
all Members in the WTO, notably the poorest and smallest
Members. In the period ahead, I intend to build on
initiatives such as Libreville 2000, Geneva Week and the
provision of Reference Centres, to further support the
efforts of delegations to participate in the WTO's work
programme.
We
must do more to help the world's poorest countries reap
greater benefits from the world trading system. I welcome
the offers from 27 countries of better market access for
least-developed countries and the increase in technical
assistance for LDCs. I can also report that the
Integrated Framework, a good plan for inter-agency
co-operation on trade-related technical assistance to
LDCs, has been reorganized and I hope next year Members
will see real results.
The
fourth challenge is to more effectively communicate the
nature and activities of the WTO and the benefits of the
multilateral trading system to our ultimate owners, the
people. I have talked on this already. The evidence that
trade helps raise living standards and alleviate poverty
is overwhelming. We cannot allow anti-trade protesters to
win the argument by default among the public at large. We
have a lot to offer. We should not be shy of saying so.
Last,
but certainly not least — we need to continue to
work hard, at the political and technical levels, for a
consensus on a broader negotiating agenda — one that
can meet the needs of all our Members. The economic
evidence to support broadened and deepened negotiations
is compelling — but we need to put the case better.
And we also need to be conscious of the risks involved in
delaying negotiations. The goodwill that has been created
over the past year gives us an opportunity, an opening,
to take our system forward and deliver benefits to all
our peoples. Let us not waste this opportunity.
Important
differences remain among national positions, particularly
on the subjects to be included in the future
negotiations. No one is trying to paper over these
differences. They will have to be bridged if Members are
to move the trading system forward on a broad and
balanced liberalising agenda. But I am encouraged by the
constructive atmosphere that now exists among the
Membership and I am convinced that Members very soon will
be in a position to show even greater levels of
flexibility and leadership when the time and conditions
are right here in Geneva.
In
the meantime, all the existing – very substantial
– work programme of the WTO must be carried forward
energetically so that it contributes not only to building
confidence but also momentum. I will do everything I can
to ensure the preparation is done, opportunities are
identified, and the conditions are favourable for the
political decisions needed to launch a broader
negotiating agenda. However, only WTO Member governments
can take those decisions. No one else can decide for you.
In
summary, my report shows that this year has been one of
challenge and consolidation. The hard work we have
invested over these last 12 months leaves us well placed
to go even further forward next year.
I
hope you will find this report useful, stimulating and
informative. Can I thank you for your goodwill,
dedication, and cooperation over the past 12 months. Our
duty now is to build on this in the new year.
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