WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/27
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1986)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
HOLY SEE
Statement Circulated byMgr. Celestino Migliore,
Under-Secretary forRelations withStates
(AsAnObserver)
1. TheHoly Seeispleased toparticipate forthefirsttimeintheMinisterial Conference ofthe
WTO andinthecelebration ofthefiftieth anniversary oftheGATT System. In1965, inthedocument
oftheSecond Vatican Council "Gaudium etspes", theCatholic Church noted thesignificance ofthe
process ofeconomic globalization andindicated theneedforajustmultilateral system ofexchange
(cfs.GS,nn.83,85-86). Inkeeping withitsnature asaninternational juridical person, andwithits
roleasanobserver totheWTO, theHoly Seewishes totakethisopportunity tooffersome reflections
upon some oftheethical criteria which should guide multilateral commercial treaties.
2. Trade hasalways beenononeofthemeans ofinteraction between countries andcivilizations.
Itcancontribute tohuman advancement, ifitleads toanequitable share ofcomparative advantages,
but,when itisnotgoverned byethical criteria, itcanalsoleadtoinequalities andthedestruction of
values andcultures. Aconception ofinternational trade asaninstrument fortheconsolidation of
geopolitical oreconomics interests bymeans ofunilateral advantages istobeavoided. Itisclearthat
suchanattitude must bearsome portion ofblame forthegreat tragedies ofthetwentieth century.
3. Asakeyelement inguaranteeing international peace, theUntied Nations 'project envisioned
the"International Trade Organization" (ITO) asawayofco-ordinating thetrade interests ofnations
andobtaining conditions which would bejustandequitable forall.Asisknown, theITOdidnot
materialize. Even thesubsequent General Agreements (GATT), which supposed theacceptance of
rulesofreciprocity andofproper commercial behaviour among participants, werelimited toarestricted
group ofnations. Onereason fortheslowintegration ofother countries intoGATT wastheperception
thatdifferences ineconomic development impeded integration intoanormative common framework.
Moreover, many countries wanted tocreate institutional linksbetween tradeandother complementary
economic actions -thetransfer oftechnology andcapital -andwithasystem ofpreferential trade
negotiation.
4. Itwasonlyinthe1980s thatthemajority ofdeveloping countries felttheneedtobepartof
theUruguay Round ofGATT. Theeventual establishment oftheWTO wasanimportant stepforward,
because allcountries agreed totheestablishment ofthenormative common framework toensure honest
competition among nations. When admitted asanobserver inJuly1997, theHoly Seeaffirmed that
the"WTO implies amain innovation, foritestablishes auniversal system fortheregulation oftrade
controversies, excluding unilateral unfair commercial actions. TheWTO 'sactivity seems destined
towork outafullbody ofinternational public trade law,withadecisive influence inthewhole span
ofrelations between countries, including thepreservation ofinternational peace".
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Page2
5. Although theWTO 'sobjectives arelimited basically todetermining rulesformultilateral trade
negotiation, withtheco-ordination ofpolicies ontariffs andexternal trade, itsactivity canhelptocreate
ajustinternational trade system, provided itdoesnotlosesightoftherestofglobal economic reality
andislinked withparallel action (inother international orbilateral settings) working towards other
goals, especially: (1)equal opportunities foreconomic development forallStates; and(2)equality
ofbenefits foreachcitizen inevery country.
6. Inthespecific fieldoftheWTO, moreover, thecountries ofgreatest economic strength should
beprepared toaccept theorganization 'srules without conditions, andtoopentheirownmarkets at
leastinproportion totheopening offered bytheweakest countries. Inthecaseofless-developed
countries, favourable unilateral concessions should beconsidered: anunconditional opening ofmarkets
intheirfavour, theconcession ofextended timelimits fortheiradaptation tothenorms, theconcession
ofwaivers toprotect weak social andproductive structures; arevision andextension ofterms and
conditions asoften asnecessary.
7. Parallel totheWTO, efforts should bemade toeliminate theinequalities weighing upon the
less-developed countries bymeans suchasthefollowing: theconstant andconsistent supply ofofficial
developmentaid;thetransferofknowledgeandwell-adaptedtechnologyandknow-how,andthesolution
offinancial problems -thecancellation ofexternal debt, followed bypreferential financial assistance
withaviewtoconsolidating national finances.
8. Itisalsoimportant thatinbothrichandpoorcountries opentrade should notundermine the
human factor, butempower it.Freetradewillbejustified when itbrings animprovement inthevarious
indicators ofthesocial development forallparticipants: food; health; education; employment;
environment; political stability; respect forfundamental freedoms andhuman rights; cultural and
workers'right,etc.andwhenithelpstoprotectandpreservesmalllocalenterprises,whichareintimately
linked totheculture andtotheidentify ofethnic andother groups ofpeople within aparticular country.
9. Thetrade negotiations oftheWTO should beaccompanied byconstant monitoring -both
theoretical andpractical -oftheireffects, especially intheareaofhuman andsocial development,
withthepurpose ofautomatically correcting unwanted results. Tothisend,there isaneedforthe
coordination ofgovernment action, bothbilateral andinthevarious international forums (WTO,
Bretton-Woods, ILO, UNDP, UNEP, OMS, FAO, UNIDO, etc.)andfortheclose co-operation of
these agencies among themselves. Also, collaboration withNGOs andwithcivilsociety asawhole
canprove auseful instrument inmaking theworld tradesystem akeyelement ofdevelopment marked
bytruefreedom andsolidarity.
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