. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/19
10 September 2003
(03-4751)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  English
NEW ZEALAND
Statement by the Honourable Jim Sutton
Minister for Trade Negotiations
I want to extend New Zealand's thanks for Mexico's hospitality and able management of this
Conference.
Chairman Derbez has no easy task.
But he has the Doha Mandate to guide him - and willing friends to help him find the path.
New Zealand counts itself among those friends.
We are ready to be pragmatic and to look for solutions, but there are some minimum standards
this Round must meet.
Agriculture is our greatest cha llenge, and greatest opportunity.
Progress on agriculture can unblock this Round, but  without real progress on agriculture, the
Round must fail.
Wealthy countries of the OECD which have subsidized and protected their farmers at the
same time as they have benefited from increasingly free trade in industrial goods and services, must
show the way.
As an essential first step, the European Union, the United States and any others who subsidize
exports should take the opportunity of Cancún to agree unequivocally that one outcome of the Doha
Round shall be the phase out of all export subsidies.
We can negotiate next year the when and the how.
Secondly, Market Access .  The Chairman's text as it stands offers no confidence that sensitive
sectors will be opened to competition.
New Zealand is ready to recognize that sensitive products could require special treatment.  But we
expect something back.  If a product is to be subject to less than a full tariff cut, there should be at least
tariff quota expansion.  And tariff quotas must allow effective access.
As a third step, on domestic support , we have to ensure that genuine cuts are made in the
programmes of the major players so that reforms start to be made for all products.WT/MIN(03)/ST/19
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If we are ready to move in these ways, this will generate progress not just in agriculture itself, but
across our whole agenda..
On Development , I believe that if we make the right moves in key areas, we will provide for
developing countries the biggest dividend of all from this negotiation.
Our ambition goes beyond agriculture.  We seek a tr uly liberalizing approach to non-agricultural
market access.
We need a simple, ambitious and harmonizing formula.  And an approach which achie ves
real liberalization in the m ost protected  sectors - including forestry and fish.
As for the Singapore Issues, progress will require sensitivity to the concerns that have been
expressed on these issues.  Developing countries have genuine issues of capacity.  We will only move
forward on these issues - separately or together - if we can get both realistic and clear options on the table.
At Doha we all made a commitment to promote sustainable development and to enhance the
mutual supportiveness of trade and environment.  New Zealand supports the proposal to put on a more
concrete basis invitations to key international environmental organizations and M.E.A. Secretariats to
attend the Special Sessions of the Committee on Trade and Environment.
New Zealand is pleased by progress in negotiations to  strengthen disciplines on fish subsidies.  It
would seem that fish have gained some new and welcome friends since Doha.  This is an encouraging
beginning.  Here again the key word must be "ambition".
Let me conclude by saying that our objective in th is Doha Round is to make a real contribution to
bettering the living conditions of all our communities.
Our job here is to take the decisions that can make a contribution to development in the trade
sphere.
But we in New Zealand are committed to properly integrating our trade policy with our other
governmental policies such as those in environment, labour and development.  That reflects our view that
economic and social development can and should go hand in hand.
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