WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/8
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5250)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
REMARKS BYTHE USDEPUTY SECRETARY OFAGRICULTURE
Thefollowing statement bytheUSDeputy Secretary ofAgriculture, intended forthespecial
meetings among Ministers, iscirculated fortheinformation ofMembers attherequest oftheUS
delegation.
_______________
AstheWTOmovesbeyondthisMinisterialtowardanewcenturyandfurthertradeliberalization,
agriculture needs toremain atoppriority. Formost countries around theworld, agriculture isthe
mostimportant sector oftrade. It'sessential that--astheWorld Trade Organization matures --we
continue tomake steady progress infreerandfairer agricultural trade.
InMarrakesh weallmade ahistoric commitment tobring agriculture under theaegis ofthe
WTO. Through theimplementation oftheUruguay Round wearebringing freertrade toagriculture.
Butweagreed thenthatitwasahistoric firststep. Weneedtokeepgoing.
Onelookateconomic growth, tradegrowth, andthedevelopment growth ofthepastfewyears --
nottomention thelonglineofnations whowant tojointheWTO --anditisclear thattrade
liberalization isthepathtoward amore peaceful, prosperous future.
Theoverriding success oftheWTO andtheUruguay Round supports whathistory hasalways
shown: Protectionism andisolationism arenever therightanswers. Weareacommunity ofnations
thatcanonlyachieve ourfullpotential together.
TheUnited States shares theWTO 'sassessment that--overall --ournations havedoneagood
jobofkeeping theUruguay Round agricultural commitments andproceeding ingood faith. Butour
work isfarfrom complete andisnotperfect.
When wecreated theWTO inMarrakesh, weunderstood thatbuilding astrong, shared
marketplace --thatspurs growth inoutput, jobsandexports --would require eachofustomake some
sacrifices. Sowesought abalance ofconcessions where success hinges onevery nation doing itspart.
Wecreated aframework ofrulesbywhich progress andcommitment byMembers canbemeasured.
TheUnited States hasbeenactively engaged overthepasttwoyears intheactivities ofthe
Committees onAgriculture, andSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, theWorking Party onState
Trading Enterprises andtheDecision onLeast Developed andNetFood Importing Countries. We
arepleased withtheprogress thathasbeenmade inthesefora,andwelookforward tocontinued progress
leading upto1999.
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Inthisregard, welookforward totheprocess ofanalysis andinformation exchange which
willenable theCommittee onAgriculture tofurther pursue in1997andthereafter allrelevant provisions
oftheAgreement onAgriculture.
Most countries haveproceeded inconformity withtherules andspirit ofourAgreement on
Agriculture. Some havenot.Some havefailed toestablish tariff-rate quotas ...some haveallowed
tariff-rate quotas togounfilled duetorestrictive import policies ...some haveviolated export subsidy
commitments, andsome havemaintained unjustified sanitary andphytosanitary measures. Allthese
countries havesacrificed principle forpolitical expedience.
AsWTOMemberscontinuetoimplementtheUruguayRound,wemustnotforgetthat--beyond
establishing rules andshaping afreermarketplace --wearealsosetting precedent. Howwehonour
ourcommitments willdetermine therelevance ofthisOrganization inshaping thefuture ofagricultural
trade.
HavingimplementedandmonitoredtheUruguayRoundcommitmentstodate,allWTOMember
countries know thatadditional reform isnecessary. Thesystem weestablished inMarrakesh isyoung,
andwearelearning, through theongoing work oftheCommittee onAgriculture aswellasother bodies,
toidentify where wehavedonewellandwhere weneedfurther work. Wearefinding thatthecurrent
system doesnotadequately address anumber ofissues ofcritical importance toouragricultural
community. Forexample, reforms areessential intheadministration oftariff-rate quotas andinthe
elimination ofunjustified sanitary andphytosanitary barriers. Thisisbecoming clear aswestudy
notifications andencounter implementation irregularities. Inaddition, much work isneeded in
disciplining theactivities ofstatetrading enterprises andeliminating export subsidies.
TheUnited States remains engaged, andcommitted --bothinbilateral negotiations andthrough
theWTO --tochallenging trade-distorting activities inwhatever form theyarise. Itisinourbest
interest. It'salsointhebestinterest ofthisOrganization andtheMember countries. TheWTO is
themultilateral forum fordeveloping binding trade agreements andisonlyasstrong astheactions
ofthecountries thatcomprise it.