WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/88
20May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2105)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
MALDIVES
Statement Circulated bytheHonourable Abdulla Yameen, MP,
Minister ofTrade, Industries andLabour
Fifty years oftheexistence oftheMultilateral Trading System (MTS) isindeed an
achievement worthy ofcelebration. Theevolution oftheSystem towhatithasemerged today isthe
payoff ofthelaborious endeavours oftheparties totheSystem, including itsSecretariat, overthepast
halfacentury. Thesystem hascontributed incessantly tothedevelopment oftheworld economy by
providing atrajectory onwhich global trade hascontinued toexpand. Onthishistoric occasion of
the50thAnniversary oftheMTS, therefore, Icongratulate theparties toitandwish itcontinued
success.
TheMaldives affirms itscommitment totheMTS which provides arule-based mechanism
within which thepossibility exists foreachandevery country, bigandsmall, richandpooralike, to
claim theirfairshare ofbenefits, bothfrom negotiations aswellasthrough itsdispute settlement
mechanism.
ThisSecond Session oftheWTO Ministerial Conference offers usthefirstopportunity since
wemetinSingapore ayearandahalfago,notonlytohailourachievements butalsotoreview our
agenda forliberalization ofworld trade. Italsoprovides usaforum todiscuss theissues of
contention andtoresolve tostrengthen ourpolicies andtocapitalize ontheprogress wehavemade
thusfar.Insodoing, wemust continue notonlytoacknowledge theexistence oftheneedforthe
special anddifferential treatment tothose genuinely needing it,butalsotakeproactive measures to
address these concerns. Wemustsaywhatwemean, andwemustdowhatwesay. Only thencan
weclaim thattheWTO isatrulyglobal organization.
Icommend thevigorous work oftheDirector-General with arenewed thrust since the
Singapore Ministerial toaddress theconcerns oftheleast-developed countries (LLDCs). The
subsequent High Level Meeting (HLM) oftheMinisters oftheLLDCs andthefollow upactivities
thatarebeing undertaken bytheSecretariat hasprovided newhopes forthese countries. The
momentum, however, needs tobemaintained ifthese endeavours aretobeeffective andbearfruit.
These activities largely focus onthetrade-related technical assistance andcooperation, issues
ofmarket access andtheprovision ofreference facilities through theuseofinformation technology
toenable theLLDCs tobebetter informed ofthedevelopments within theWTO system.
Iwelcome theintegrated programme oftechnical assistance thatisbeing implemented bythe
WTO andfiveother international agencies. Ialsogratefully notetheofferofthedeveloped countries,
toenhance market access forimports from LLDCs. Irecord myappreciation of,andgratitude for,
theEuropean Unions ’sannouncement thateffective from 1January 1998, non-ACP LLDCs are
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benefiting from zeroduties onalarge number ofindustrial products andalsofrom tariff reductions
onagricultural products inlinewithACP preferences. Bothofthese categories, itmight beadded,
werepreviously excluded fromGSP. According totheDirector-General ’sreport ontheoutcome and
follow upoftheHLM, 99percentofLLDCs ’exports nowenter theEUmarket duty-free.
While Iacknowledge thatthese represent unparalleled developments, there remains a
fundamental need forLLDCs: theneed tobuild acapacity forindustrial aswellasservice
production. Toredress themarginalization ofLLDCs, Ibelieve thatthedeveloped countries andthe
financial institutions inthese countries canplayamore proactive rolebyencouraging theirbusinesses
toinvest inLLDCs inwhich environments conducive toforeign direct investment exist.
Itisironic thatatatimewhen benefits ofunilateral trade preferences arebeing eroded and
traditional non-tariff barriers dismantled, some countries areimposing newonesostensibly inthe
guise oftechnical regulations, sanitary andphytosanitary, andenvironmental measures. Other
unilateral actions such asfrequent andprolonged customs investigations andother procedural
impediments alsocause disruption tomarket access andproduction losses anddiscourage exports of
LLDCs. Inmyopinion, many ofthedeveloping, especially least-developed, countries arenoteven
abletofullycomprehend thecomplexities andtheimplications ofsuchregulations letalone comply
withthem.
Weallacknowledge theslow progress oftheimplementation oftheUruguay Round
Agreements, suchastheAgreement onTextiles andClothing, andexpress ourdissatisfaction inthis
regard. These areourfailures andweneed toredress them. Ifully share theviews ofthe
International Textiles andClothing Bureau inthisregard andcallupon WTO Members to
unconditionally takemeasures tohonour thecommitments made attheUruguay Round andthereafter.
Ialsobelieve thattheWTO should takeonboard theissue ofharmonization ofpreferential
rules oforigin applied inthecontext ofvoluntary preferential arrangements accorded tothe
developing countries bythedeveloped countries. Harmonization andregulation ofpreferential rules
oforigin bytheWTO would provide aframework thatshould eliminate many oftheproblems that
exporters andimporters faceasaresult ofthemultifarious setsofpreferential rulesoforigin andthe
lackoftransparency ininterpretation andapplication. InotethatUNCTAD hasalready highlighted,
inapaper produced inNovember 1997 fortheGroup of77inGeneva, theneedandtheimportance
forinclusion ofpreferential rules oforigin intheWTO regulatory mechanism.
Ithastaken fiftyyears forustomould theMTS towhatitistoday, despite working onthe
single track oftrade. Wetherefore needtoaskourselves whether weought tolinkissues suchas
social standards totrade. Such amove would inundate uswiththeentailing deluge ofworkload. It
would notonlyresult inresource duplication; more alarmingly itcould undermine theeffectiveness
oftheWTO asthetruemaster ofworld trade. Ibelieve thatthese areissues thatcanbebetter
discussed andresolved atappropriate forums outside thepurview oftheWTO.
Inconclusion, Iexpress myprofound hope thatWTO would continue tocontribute tothe
growth oftheglobal economy byproviding abalanced andstrong framework thatensures equatability
ofbenefits, making thedifference thatithasbeenmaking hitherto andmore tothelivesofbillions
ofpeople.
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