WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/61
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5252)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE Original: French
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
BELGIUM
Statement byH.E. Mr.Philippe Maystadt
Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister ofFinance andForeign Trade
MayIbegin, Mr.Chairman, byexpressing myheartfelt appreciation ofthewelcome given
tousbyyouandyourcountry sinceourarrival, andcongratulating youmostsincerely ontheoutstanding
organization oftheConference.
ThefactthatthefirstMinisterial Conference oftheWorld Trade Organization isbeing held
inthisdynamic citysymbolizes andconfirms thesuccess ofSingapore 'sefforts tobecome integrated
inglobal trade.
There canbelittle doubt thatyouallshare myawareness oftheimportance ofthisfirst
Ministerial Conference aftertheendoftheUruguay Round negotiations andtheestablishment ofthe
newWorld Trade Organization.
Speaking fortheEuropean Union, thePresidency andtheCommission havealready hadan
opportunity toexplain thepositions wehaveadopted onthevarious items ontheagenda andwillhave
further opportunities todoso.Asrepresentative ofacountry thatisthe10thlargest contributor to
theWTO 'sbudget, Ishallrestrict myself toafewremarks onmatters thatIconsider important for
theWTO 'sfuture.
Iamfirmly convinced thatiftrade liberalization istobetrulyeffective andfulfil itsgoalof
increasing theprosperity ofallcountries andraising theirpeoples 'standards ofliving, there mustbe
anopen, universal andnon-discriminatory system thatcanonlybeassured inthelongtermbyan
organization suchastheWTO.
Many studies, including some bytheWTO itself, draw attention totheexpansion oftrade in
recent years anditsmajor contribution tothegrowth oftheworld economy.
Trade liberalization must continue.
Nevertheless, although theprocess ofeconomic globalization underpinning theWTO 'swork
holds outgreat promise, wehavetorecognize thatitisalsoacause ofanxiety toallthose whodo
notfeelequipped tomeetthechallenges itinvolves.
Aspolitical leaders, wemusttakethese concerns intoaccount andensure thatliberalization
doesnottakeplace without theconsent andsupport ofthepeople concerned.
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Mycolleagues present hereknow orremember thedifficulties thathadtobeovercome before
concluding thenegotiations inMarrakesh in1994. Itwasnoeasymatter toachieve asatisfactory balance
among theconcessions andexpectations onallsides.
Itwould therefore beunwise totrytoexpand thestructure toohastily. Wewould dobetter
tostrengthen theelements already inplace before attempting toaddonanynewones.
Itmustbeemphasized thattheWTO 'sprimary taskistoensure thattheagreements reached
arerespected intheirentirety.
Thebalance ofrights andobligations under theUruguay Round mustnotbecalled intoquestion.
Belgium, therefore, doesnotsupport theearly initiation ofnewnegotiations.
There must alsobeagreement thattheWTO should ensure thattheliberalization process is
progressive, without artificial time-limits andaccompanied byastrengthening oftrade rules and
disciplines.
TheWTO mustalsomake itabsolutely clearthatoneofitsforemost priorities istheintegration
oftheleast-developed countries ininternational trade: thisissomething towhich mycountry attaches
great importance.
Lastly, andabove all,theWTO, strengthened asaresult ofthisConference, must clearly
emphasize thattrade isnotanendinitself but,tocitethewords ofthepreamble totheAgreement
Establishing theWorld Trade Organization, ameans of"raising standards ofliving" and"ensuring
fullemployment".
Thepeople ofBelgium, through theirParliament, which made thisacondition forratification
oftheUruguay Round Agreements, wishtoseetheWTO make anactive contribution tothepromotion
ofthebasiclabour standards enshrined ininternational law,inclosecollaboration withtheInternational
Labour Organization andwithout jeopardizing thecomparative advantages ofdeveloping countries.
TheBelgian Government naturally regrets thatMr.Hansenne, Director-General oftheILO,
wasnotinvited toourmeeting. Wewould notunderstand itiftheWTO refused toestablish some
formofcooperation withtheInternational Labour Organization inorder progressively toensure that
these basic standards arerespected.
Thisaction willtaketime(thecountries concerned mustbegiven areasonable amount oftime
toadapt theirlabour practices andconditions) andmustbesetwithin amultilateral framework (there
should benounilateral measures). Itmust taketheform ofincentives rather thansanctions andbe
accompanied byincreased assistance totheleast-developed countries.
MyGovernment wellunderstands thereticence ofseveral ofouremerging anddeveloping
country partners todiscuss these issues intheWTO. Iamcertainly notunresponsive tosome oftheir
arguments, particularly theirfeeling thatsome "social" statements areinfactinspired byprotectionist
inclinations. Thisisnotourcase, however, andIamconvinced thatbetter mutual understanding of
ourvalues andconcepts inthisareacanonlycome frommultilateral discussion thattakes dueaccount
oftheinterests, characteristics andproblems ofallconcerned.
These concerns canbemetinanumber ofways, butitismyviewthatthecreation ofsatisfactory
mechanisms forcooperation between theWTO andtheILOwould undoubtedly beapositive step.
Bydiscussingtheseissuestogether,wewilltakeanimportantstepforwardalongthepathtowards
ourshared objective, namely, toimprove thewell-being ofourpeoples.