WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/12
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1980)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
AUSTRIA
Statement Circulated byH.E. Mr.H.Farnleitner,
Minister forEconomic Affairs
Ishould liketothank Federal Councillor Mr.Couchepin, forthegreat efforts Switzerland,
asthehostcountry ofWTO, hasmade tocontribute tothesuccess ofthisConference andofthe
anniversary celebrations. Mythanks arealsoaddressed totheDirector-General, Mr.Ruggiero, and
hisstafffortheexcellent preparatory work intherun-up tothese events.
Mr.Chairman, wemeettoday onanhistoric occasion. Wecelebrate 50years ofGATT/WTO
andthehistory ofthisorganization stands for50years oftrade liberalization andthesettlement of
tradedisputes withpeaceful means. The50years longhistory oftheGATT/WTO system can-without
exaggeration -beconsidered asasuccess story. Theachievements ofeight world trade rounds since
thecreation oftheGATT reinforced theconfidence inthemultilateral approach fortheregulation of
theinternational trade relations. Liberal trade andGATT/WTO arealmost synonymous nowadays
andtheonecanhardly beimagined without theother.
Inthepasttheliberalization oftradeproved tobeanimportant driving forceforglobal economic
growth. Economic analysis indicates thatespecially smaller countries, which areheavily dependent
onforeign trade, benefit morethanproportionally fromopenmarkets. Statistics showforthesecountries
anadditionalgrowthofupto6percent,createdonlybytheGATT-UruguayRound.Thestrongincrease
oftheAustrian exports during thelastyears forexample canbeexplained toalargeextent bythemore
liberal market access conditions. Itappears justified toconclude thatfuture trade liberalization will
havesimilar positive effects forallMembers oftheWTO.
TheMarrakesh Agreement, however, canonlyrealize itsfullpotential forcontributing to
economic growth andthereby toincreased living standards ifandwhen theyarefullyandfaithfully
implemented. Itgoeswithout saying thatAustria advocates thecomplete andtimely implementation
ofallAgreements oftheUruguay Round aswellasoftheResults ofthe1997 Financial Services
negotiations. Wetherefore expect thepermanent organs oftheWTO tointensify theirongoing work
ofmonitoring implementation.
There aregood reasons fordeveloping theGATT/WTO system further. TheWTO faces
constantlynewchallengesbecauseofthedynamicsandtheincreasedcomplexityofinternationaleconomic
relations. Itisoneofthetasksofthisconference andofitsfollow-up tounderline thepositive effects
ofglobalization, butatthesame timetoacknowledge thepossibility ofundesirable sideeffects and
toconsider measures tocounteract them.
Thelackofcomprehensive rulesforinvestment intheWTO Agreements isashortcoming which
becomes more andmore apparent. TheWTO Agreement onTrade-Related Investment Measures
(TRIMs) covers onlypartofthelinksbetween trade andinvestment. Therefore WTO iscalled uponWT/MIN(98)/ST/12
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todealwiththissubject inamore comprehensive manner. Thisapplies tomultilateral rules of
competition aswellwhich arenotyetcovered intheWTO. Theefforts made inthese fields haveour
fullsupport.
WTO Members havealready made frequent useoftheWTO dispute settlement procedures
during itsfirstyears ofexistence. TheDispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) hascontributed to
alarge degree tostrengthening confidence intheWTO system ofrules. Thecurrent review process
should notputintoquestion theWTO dispute settlement assuch, itshould rather beusedtoremedy
certain weaknesses inthefunctioning ofthesystem.
TheWTO should giveparticular attention toabetter integration oftheleast-developed countries
intothemultilateral trading system. Apart from additional efforts toimplement thePlanofAction
forleast-developed countries adopted atthelastWTO Ministerial Conference inSingapore, concrete
measures toimprove market access toLDC'sproducts should betaken. Some WTO Members have
already setapositive example which should befollowed byalldeveloped andbymore advanced
developing countries.
WebelievethataccessionnegotiationswiththenumerousWTOapplicantsshouldbeaccelerated.
Lack ofresources iscertainly notavalid reason forfurther delays. Tothisend,itisalsonecessary,
however, thatsome applicants become more aware ofwhatWTO Membership implies andtakemore
vigorous action toadapt theirlegislation toWTO obligations.
Apart from thepreparation ofthenextround oftrade liberalization andthesolving ofother
imminent adhoctasks, Austria supports continuing theWTO Work Programme adopted inSingapore.
Theextremely rapid development ofelectronic commerce withitsmanifold interfaces toWTO
issues requires aquick reaction. Therefore WTO should develop assoonaspossible basic principles
fortrade relevant aspects ofelectronic commerce. Inorder tofullyexploit itspotential, electronic
commerce needs astable regulatory framework fromwhich both,consumers andsuppliers, shallbenefit.
Since thefirstMinisterial Conference inSingapore important progress hasbeenachieved by
theWTO. Inthiscontext Iwould liketomention particularly theconclusion ofthenegotiations on
information technology, basic telecommunications andfinancial services. These successes, obtained
despite often adverse circumstances, should filluswithasense ofconfidence withregard tothenew
round oftrade negotiations.
Wesupport theMinisterial Textbefore usandarelooking forward tothepreparatory work
forthenextMinisterial Conference which weexpect totakethedecisive decisions foraninthnegotiating
Round.
With respect totheupcoming negotiations starting in1999/2000, Austria advocates a
comprehensive approach. Thisapproach covers thelowering ofindustrial tariffs, particularly those
which stillconstitute arealimpediment, theimprovement oftheeffective market access forservices,
theadjustments oftheexisting agreement textswhere thereviews demonstrate thenecessity todoso,
intensive dealing withinvestment andcompetition questions, progress withthetradefacilitation dossier
aswellasfurther liberalization within theareaofinformation technology and-lastbutnotleast-
accelerated reduction oftechnical trade barriers.
Theservices sector, nodoubt, cancontribute verymuch togrowth andemployment, although
some less-developed countries areunfortunately stilllagging behind inrealizing thebenefits onthe
full-scale. Thesmall- andmedium-sized companies intheindustrialized countries alsodonotalwaysWT/MIN(98)/ST/12
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belong totheshort-term winners ofliberalization; many ofthem havestilltoprove theirability to
compete.
Inconsidering further stepsofliberalization itappears tousofspecial importance toconvince
public opinion ofthepositive contribution ofopen markets togrowth, prosperity andemployment.
Ontheother hand, however, theWTO community iscalled upontoincrease itssensitivity forpossible
effects oftrade ontheenvironment andtopayproper attention toapprehensions withregard tosocial
standards.
TheCommittee forTrade andEnvironment hasdeepened itsanalytical workandthereby created
theadequate prerequisites forastronger politically accentuated debate. Theexperiences achieved should
soonbetransformed intoconcrete WTO provisions.
AustriafavourscooperationbetweenILOandWTOSecretariatsasprovidedforbytheSingapore
declaration. Suchcooperation should bemade transparent byregular reports andappropriate attention
istobegiven tothisimportant topic intheWTO.
Since itsestablishment asaninternational organization WTO hasconsolidated itsposition as
adriving forceinmultilateral tradeinanimpressive manner. Iamconfident thatduetothefullsupport
ofallMembers, WTO willbeabletocopewithitscontinuously expanding agenda inthecoming years.
WTO enjoys thenecessary support andprestige tomeetthechallenge ofupcoming tradepolicy issues.
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