WORLD TRADE WT/FIFTY/H/ST/10
19May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2067)
50thANNIVERSARY Original: French
Geneva, 19May1998
SWITZERLAND
Statement byH.E. Mr.Flavio Cotti,
President
Onbehalf oftheFederal Council, Iwelcome youtoGeneva. Switzerland isproud ofreceiving
theworld 'sleaders hereontheoccasion ofthemany meetings andconferences heldinGeneva.
Thereason Switzerland attaches suchimportance totheinternational roleofGeneva, supports
itresolutely andstrives tomake itbetter known, isthatwearefullyaware ofthiscity'simportance
asaforum where thefriendly relations vitalforthestability andstrengthening ofinternational relations
areestablished anddeveloped.
Thisroleisparticularly important tousbecause theFederal Council, inadesire toopenup
Swiss foreign policy, hasclearly reaffirmed itsdetermination tointegrate Switzerland aseffectively
aspossible inmultilateral forums, many ofwhich havetheirheadquarters inGeneva. There isno
needtorecall heretheincreasingly vitalroleplayed bymultilateral diplomacy inaglobalized world.
There isanimportant reason whyleaders fromaround theworld havegathered today tomark
this50thAnniversary ofthemultilateral trading system. Wearenotonlyheretoacknowledge the
system 'smosttangible achievements -thedramatic riseinworld trade, thewidening anddeepening
oftherules, orourrapid expansion towards atrulyglobal trading system. More importantly, weare
here tocommemorate thesuccess ofthree central ideas: theidea thatopen borders and
non-discriminatory trade canbeaforce forinternational stability andpeace, aswellasprosperity.
Isay"can" because onefurther condition isalways needed, thepolitical willtoachieve social justice
andovercome conflict inaspirit oftolerance. Theideathattheruleoflaw,rather thantheruleof
forceisthemeasure ofcivilized discourse among nations. Andlastly, theideathatone'sownprosperity
andwell-being restsfundamentally ontheprosperity andwell-being ofmillions ofourfellow men
andwomen.
Itwasthissame vision which guided thearchitects ofthissystem 50years ago. In1948, the
world hadjustemerged from themostdestructive conflict inhuman history. InEurope alone, over
30million hadperished. Great cities layinruins. Once powerful economies were ontheirknees.
Thechallenge fortheworld 'sleaders thenwasnotjusttorebuild cities andfactories. Thechallenge
wastorebuild theworld economy and,withit,thewhole fabric ofinternational relations. Inthis
context, atthelevelofthecontinent theEuropean Union hasrepresented andirreplaceable asset-and
itisthePresident oftheSwiss Confederation whoaffirms this-aCopernican revolution infavour
ofpeace andfriendly cooperation inaEurope previously afflicted bypermanent anddramatic conflicts.
Butalsoattheuniversal level, thesystem ofeconomic relations wasseenasconcerning more than
commercial relations. Inthevision ofitsfounding fathers, thefreeflowofgoods andservices across
borders would bring different peoples -aswellasdifferent economies -closer -andweave aworld
ofgreater interdependence. Anopenandnon-discriminatory system ofmultilateral ruleswould replace
theexclusionary alliances anddeals thathaddone somuch tofuelpre-war rivalries, tensions andWT/FIFTY/H/ST/10
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suspicions. Prosperity, through trade, would liftuptheworld 'spoor, marginalized anddispossessed
and,indoing so,begin tonarrow theeconomic andsocial divisions which weretheroots ofhuman
conflicts.
These were ambitious ideas, particularly since theymeant overcoming protectionist trends,
giving upsome oftherevenue generated bycustoms duties, andagreeing tosubmit anydisagreements
onimplementation oftheagreement tomultilateral procedures. Andyetthesystem 'sremarkable
advances overthepast50years haveexceeded eventhemostoptimistic predictions. Atthebeginning
oftheGATT, there were just23members. Now there are132-andChina, Russia and29other
accession candidates could wellbemembers early inthenextcentury. World trade hasmultiplied
14times since 1950. Foreign direct investment hasrisen evenmore dramatically -25foldoverthe
sameperiod. Fiftyyears ago,international commerce essentially meant tradeingoods orrawmaterials.
Now, trade inservices, trade ininformation andtrade inideas arebecoming essential factors inour
global economy.
Butthestory ofthemultilateral system overthepast50years isnotjustthestory ofeconomic
progress. Itisthestory ofpolitical progress onthebasis ofconsensus -freely negotiated among all
Members. Itisastory which makes themultilateral system apowerful example tothebroader theatre
ofinternational relations.
Today werearecommemorating allofthese achievements. Butwearedoing more thanthat.
Wearestanding firmly andresolutely behind amultilateral system which hasbecome anindispensable
pillar oftheglobal economy. Wearedrawing lessons from thepast,butweareusing those lessons
toprovide leadership andguidance forthefuture.
What doweknow ofthefuture thatliesbefore us?First, weknow thatitwillbeaworld
marked byeconomic integration andinterdependence. Thisisnotanideology orapolitical agenda.
Itistheoutcome ofeconomic andtechnical developments which areaspowerful astheyareinevitable.
Anditisaprocess which willhavefar-reaching implications notonlyfortheworld economy, butfor
thepolitical andsocial landscape aswell. Theworld presents twofacesatthecloseofthe20thcentury:
oneofgrowth anddevelopment onascaleunprecedented inhistory; butalsooneshadowed byfears
ofeconomic uncertainty andinstability. Which facepredominates willdepend onourwillingness to
seize andshape itsintrinsic opportunities.
Thisleadstothesecond certainty about thefuture. Thattherewillbenosingle national answer
totheopportunities andchallenges oftheworld economy ofthefuture. Norwillthere beonesingle
policy response. Thisnewworld requires thewidest possible cooperation, across thebroadest range
ofissues. Cooperation which reaches beyond economics, totackle thechallenges ofdevelopment,
theenvironment andsocial concerns, because wecannot deceive ourselves: social injustice andthe
gapbetween therichandthepoor continues tobeacharacteristic ofinternational relations. A
collaboration inwhich allcountries, andallregions, must playtheirpart-notjustaselect fewand
notjustwithin limited borders. Themultilateral trading system willmake averyimportant contribution
tothisprocess -butwecannot expect ittoprovide thesolution toalltheproblems.
Thethirdcertainty isthatwewillrealize thefullpotential ofthisnewglobal economy only
ifthetrading system isalsotrulyglobal initsscope andinitsembrace. Thisiswhywemustredouble
ourefforts tobring developing andleast-developed countries, aswellaseconomies intransition, fully
intothesystem. Here Iamnotsimply talking about theWTO accession process ofthenumerous
candidates -though thisiscritically important. Wehave amoral obligation tohelpthemost
marginalized -bothwithin andamong countries -tobenefit fromeconomic growth andprogress. But
wealsohaveaninterest inreducing theunacceptable disparities between thehaves andhave-nots, in
aworld inwhich social, health orenvironmental problems increasingly know noborders.WT/FIFTY/H/ST/10
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Wefaceaworldeconomyinwhichthechallengesandopportunitiesarenew,butthefundamental
choices areenduring. Dowewant economic relations between nations based onopenness and
non-discrimination, orprotection andexclusivity? Dowewanttoembrace economic andtechnological
change andharness itforourcollective benefit? Orarewecontent toletglobal economic forces shape
us?
Likethefathers ofthemultilateral system fivedecades ago,wefindourselves atoneofhistory 's
crossroads -onthethreshold ofaneweraandanewinternational landscape. There isnothing
predetermined about theworld weareentering into. Itisawork inprogress, where thechange is
theonlyconstant. Itisnotenough toexplain thatglobal change isinevitable. Wehavetoexplain
where these changes should takeus.What kindofglobal system wewant. Andhowwepropose to
getthere. Likeourpredecessors, whose vision anddetermination wearecommemorating today, we
needtolooktothefuture -andtoexplain thisfuture tothepresent. Thisimplies adialogue marked
byconfidence attheuniversal level. Icanassure youthatSwitzerland isready toplayitsroleinthis
fundamental andurgent dialogue. Likeourpredecessors intheirtime, today wearethesolemasters
ofthefuture inthenewcentury fullofpromise thatwillopenupformankind in591days.
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