WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/37
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1989)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
SINGAPORE
Statement Circulated byH.E. Mr.LeeYock Suan,
Minister forTrade andIndustry
(attheworking session onimplementation)
A. Introduction
1. TheWTO ’strade liberalizing rules andcommitments bring anewdynamism andstability to
international trade. They seektoimprove trading opportunities andtoreinvigorate theruleoflaw
inmultilateral trade. Theprimary benefit ofsuchanapproach isthestability andsecurity ofthemarket
access itengenders. Thesuccess ofthesystem andtherealization ofitsbenefits, however, hinge on
thefullandfaithful implementation ofnegotiated commitments.
B. Implementation
Importance ofimplementation
2. TheUruguay Round wascomprehensive. Itencompassed areas thathadbeenthesubject of
previous GATT rounds, introduced trade disciplines inareas which hadlongbeenresistant toreform
(agriculture andtextiles), andtackled newissues suchastradeinservices andtrade-related intellectual
property rights. Allinall,theRound resulted innolessthan26,000 pages ofwritten text,including
22,000 pages ofschedules ofmarket access commitments made bymember nations.1
3. Only effective compliance willensure thatthebenefits oftheUruguay Round arereaped in
full. Much isatstake. A1993 OECD study predicted thattariff reductions inthegoods areaalone
will,bytheyear2002, result inapermanent increase inworld GDPofUS$274 billion.2Amore recent
estimate bytheWTO Secretariat suggests thattheUruguay Round willaddUS$510 billion toworld
income overthenexttenyears.
4. More importantly, theverycredibility ofthemultilateral trading system, andpublic confidence
initdepend onimplementation. Every WTO Member hasanimportant stake inthecontinued vitality
ofthesystem.
1John Croome, WTO 1995, Reshaping theWorld Trading System .
2OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment1993.AssessingtheEffectsoftheUruguayRound,
Paris.WT/MIN(98)/ST/37
Page2
Status ofimplementation
5. Fouryears afterMarrakesh, implementation hasbeengenerally satisfactory. National capitals
havebeentranslating WTO commitments intopractice, withthevarious bodies oftheWTO providing
aforum forinformation exchange, clarification anddeveloping common approaches toimplementation
related issues. Important progress hasalsobeenmade inrespect ofsome oftheso-called "unfinished"
business oftheUruguay Round, suchastheagreements onbasic telecommunications andfinancial
services.
6. However, much remains tobedone. Problems havealsoarisen. Aparticular cause forconcern
isthegrowing discontent amongst certain countries thatthesystem hasfailed toproduce tangible
economic benefits commensurate withtheobligations itimposes.
7. Exports from developing countries continue tofacesignificant market access impediments.
Recent studies byUNCTAD andtheFAO haveconfirmed thattariff peaks andtariff escalation still
hamper developing country exports, andtheirattempts atexport diversification.3Itisofconcern that
theproblem oftariff peaks andescalation occur predominantly inthose sectors ofexport interest to
developing countries. Forinstance, themajority ofthetariff peaks indeveloped markets areinthe
agricultural, fishery andfoodindustry sectors.
8. Misgivings overthegeneral trading conditions fordeveloping countries havealsosurfaced.
Oneexample relates totheproblems faced bydeveloping countries intheareaoftextiles andclothing.
Theintegration ofthese products intotheGATT, under theAgreement onTextiles andClothing, is
heavily backloaded. Integration notonlybegan withproducts thatwere oflittleexport value tothe
developing countries, butitalsoledtoanintensified useoftransitional safeguard measures byimporting
countries. Asecond example would betherising incidence ofcontingency protection measures against
developing country exports. In1995-1996, 147anti-dumping actions wereinitiated byanumber of
developed countries andnearly 600definite anti-dumping duties were inforce inthese countries at
theendof1996.4
Resolving implementation problems
9. Itisimportant fortheWTO toaddress thisdiscontent. Weneedtofindeffective mechanisms
topermit developing countries toaddress their concerns andthussecure their continued active
participation inthesystem.
10. With thisinmind, Singapore firmly supports theproposal forafocused attempt atresolving
theproblems ofimplementation. Given thecross-cutting nature oftheissues involved, itisappropriate
thatthiswork beunder thepurview oftheGeneral Council, andthatitbeaimed atpreparing arange
ofviableoptionsonbothimplementationandfutureactivitiesforourconsiderationatthenextMinisterial
Conference.
11. Singapore would, however, place twocaveats inrespect ofthisprocess. Firstly, inexamining
theproblems ofimplementation, Members should notattempt toundermine either thelevelortheintent
ofexisting commitments. These commitments, being theproducts ofthesingle undertaking ofthe
3UNCTAD/WTO JointStudy ThePost-Uruguay Round Tariff Environment forDeveloping Country Exports,
1997 Josten Lindland, FAO April 1997, Theimpact oftheUruguay Round onTariff Escalation inIndustrial
Products.
4UNCTAD,waysandmeansforimprovingtheopportunitiesfortheexpansionofexportsofgoodsandservices
from developing countries, September 1997.WT/MIN(98)/ST/37
Page3
Uruguay Round, represent acareful balance between competing interests. Weshould nottamper with
thisbalance lestweunravel allthattheWTO hashitherto achieved. Secondly, theprocess cannot
andshould notattempt toachieve a"mutuality ofbenefits". TheWTO isabout opportunities ofaccess -
bothinterms ofthelimits andthesecurity oftheaccess negotiated. Itisuptoindividual Members
torealise thebenefits arising from these opportunities.
12. Against thebackdrop ofthefinancial crisis inAsia, thissecond Ministerial Conference provides
apertinent andtimely occasion forMembers toreaffirm their commitment tofullandfaithful
implementation. Itisalsoanopportune moment forMembers torecognise theproblems faced bya
coreconstituency oftheWTO, andtocommit toworking towards resolving them. Toremain relevant
anduseful, theWTO must beresponsive totheneeds andconcerns ofallitsMembers.
C. Future Activities
Built-in agenda
13. Akeystarting point fortheWTO ’sfuture activities willbeitsbuilt-in agenda (BIA) andthe
workprogrammes agreed toinMarrakesh andSingapore. Together, theyprovide asignificant platform
fordeepening ofmarket access commitments, improvement ofexisting rules andtheformulation of
newrules toensure therelevance andeffective functioning ofthemultilateral trading system.
14. TheBIAwilllaunch negotiations inthetwokeysectors ofagriculture andservices bythe
year2000. Itwillalsoentail major reviews ofimportant Uruguay Round Agreements suchasthe
Agreement onTrade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), theAgreement onTrade-Related
Investment Measures andtheWTO Dispute Settlement Understanding. TheBIAextends tonearly
alltheWTO Agreements, including areas suchastechnical barriers totrade, subsidies, anti-dumping
andthetextiles andclothing sector.5
15. Thus, itisclearthattheBIAandthework programmes would constitute amajor proportion
ofthefuture activities oftheWTO. Nonetheless, therearethreeimportant areaswhich theWTO would
needtoaddress adequately, inorder tomeetthechallenges ofmarket realities andthedevelopmental
needs ofitsMembers.
Expanded work programme
16. Firstly, itwillbevitalfortheWTO ’sfuture work agenda toadapt itsrules totechnological
advances. Aprime example istheemergence ofnewforms oftrading activities suchaselectronic
commerce. Thelatter’sexciting potential toenhance tradehascaptured theimagination ofgovernments,
businesses andconsumers alike. Thevalue ofelectronic commerce transactions isprojected toexpand
exponentially from US$10 billion today tooverUS$300 billion intheyear2002.
17. From theWTO perspective, electronic commerce hassignificant implications forthetraditional
notions ofcross-border trade. Asnational borders disappear incyberspace, therelevance ofexisting
rulesoncross-border tradecomes intoquestion. TheWTO hastoaddress suchissues inorder tokeep
abreast ofthechanges totheworld trading system. Singapore therefore welcomes therecent proposals
onelectronic commerce mooted bysome Members.
18. Secondly, therecent proliferation ofRegional Trading Arrangements (RTAs), atatimewhen
themultilateral trading system isthriving, isacause ofconcern. Regional integration wasnotthought
5TheWTO Secretariat hasprepared aninitial compilation ofBIAissues indocument WT/L/271 dated
7May 1998.WT/MIN(98)/ST/37
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of,either attheGATT ’screation orevennow, asnecessarily antithetical totheGATT. Indeed,
Article XXIV isseenaspermitting asupplemental, practical route touniversal freetrade. However,
therising incidence ofRTAs poses twosystemic risks:
(a) Preferential agreements between countries tiedbygeography, economic outlook etc.
haveobvious political andeconomic attractions. Thismaydetract from theimpetus
formultilateral trade liberalization.
(b) RTAs areincreasingly significant interms ofthepolitical weight theybearin
international negotiations. Because oftheirtradeandinvestment diverting effects, there
isincreasing riskofeconomic andpolitical riftsbetween regional groups. Thiscould
fragment theworld intoregional trading blocs.
19. Thirdly, theBIAmaynotaccord sufficient scope fordeveloping countries toaddress some
oftheirpressing market access problems. Arecent UNCTAD study notes that,despite theUruguay
Round tariff cuts, tariff peaks remain asignificant market access barrier toindustrial exports from
developing countries.6Mostpeaks areconcentrated intheleather, footwear, clothing andtextiles sectors
andrange from 12to30percent. Tariffs ashighas320percenthavealsobeenrecorded. Yet,the
existing agenda oftheWTO doesnotencompass aworkprogramme topursue thegeneral goaloffurther
liberalization ofindustrial tariffs.
20. Itisforthesereasons thatSingapore isinfavour ofanexpanded workprogramme fortheWTO -
awork programme thatgoesbeyond theBIA.
Merits ofacomprehensive approach
21. Acomprehensive approach toourfuture activities hasthree significant merits:
(a) Itwould allow Members toseekandsecure advantages across awiderange ofissues.
Developing countries, inparticular, would havearenewed opportunity topushfor
abalanced agenda andmore equitable results.
(b) Domestic reform inthepolitically sensitive areas ismore likely tobetenable inthe
context ofmultilateral trade liberalization asitprovides thepossibility fortrade-offs.
(c) Itwould allow theWTO tobuild onthemomentum oftheUruguay Round andtokeep
pacewiththelatest developments inworld trade ingoods andservices.
Wayforward
22. Toderive maximum benefits fromsuchacomprehensive approach, itwould beimportant to
define itsparameters clearly, inparticular, itsagenda, modalities andtiming. Singapore, therefore,
supports theproposal forapreparatory process tobesetupbythisMinisterial Conference toconsider
theseissues. TheGeneral Council should betasked withpreparing comprehensive options fordecision
bythethirdMinisterial Conference.
6UNCTAD/WTO Joint Study. ThePost-Uruguay Round Tariff Environment forDeveloping Country
Exports 1997.WT/MIN(98)/ST/37
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Conclusion
23. Tosustain world economic growth andsecurity, theremustbeacontinued strong commitment
tomultilateral trade liberalization. This, however, raises twoconcomitant responsibilities onthepart
oftrading nations. Firstly, national governments should beprepared toputintoplace thenecessary
domestic regulatory framework andinfrastructure tomaximise thebenefits fromtrade liberalization.
Secondly, itrequires allWTO Members tobewilling tocollectively address problems thatinhibit the
trading system.
24. Singapore believes thatthisMinisterial Conference should laythegroundwork fora
comprehensive work programme. Itwillprovide anoverall balance toandaddress theinterests and
concerns ofallWTO Members. Itwillhelptosustain world economic growth andstability inthese
uncertain times.
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