WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/39
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2041)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
TURKEY
Statement Circulated byDr.IþýnÇelebi,
Minister ofState
Iwould liketothank theSwiss authorities, therepresentatives ofthemissions inGeneva and
theWTO Secretariat forthisexcellent organization.
Thesecond Ministerial Conference oftheWTO, coinciding withthe50thAnniversary ofthe
multilateral trading system, carries additional importance beyond itsagenda.
Forthelast50years, theglobal community haswitnessed valuable efforts toliberalize world
trade under theauspices oftheGATT andtheWTO.
Turkey isacommitted supporter oftheWTO andwhatitrepresents. Weareconvinced that
aliberal international trading system based ontheprinciples offreecompetition, non-discrimination
andelimination ofbarriers totrade areintheinterest oftheglobal community. Trade policies
pursued byTurkey since the1980s havevindicated thisapproach.
Since theunity ofthedeveloped, developing, least-developed andtransition economies isthe
most valuable asset oftheWTO, abalanced approach observing theinterest ofallWTO Members
should beensured.
Furthermore, dueconsideration should begiven tothespecial needs anddevelopment
requirements ofthedeveloping andtheleast-developed economies, including thedifficulties
encountered inimplementing theoutcomes oftheUruguay Round Agreements.
Atthispoint, werecall themain goaloftheUruguay Round Agreements thattheintegration
oftheless-developed economies ininternational trade isimportant notonlyfortheir economic
development butalsoforglobal trade expansion.
Within thiscontext, Iwould liketoexpress mysatisfaction overtheresults oftheinitiatives
taken since thefirstMinisterial Conference. We,theMinisters, hadaccepted aPlanofAction aiming
atachieving better market access conditions fortheleast-developed countries andenhancing their
trading opportunities. Inaccordance withthisdecision, Turkey, onanautonomous basis, hasputinto
effect acomprehensive preferential tariffregime fortheproducts originating fromtheleast-developed
countries asof1January 1998.
Ihope these efforts willcontinue inthelightofourcommon belief thatthesuccess ofthe
multilateral trading system canonlybeattained byensuring allcountries ’participation. Atthispoint,
Iwould liketopoint outtheimportance ofproviding technical assistance andcapacity building
programmes fordeveloping andtheleast-developed countries. Ibelieve thatthese activities shouldWT/MIN(98)/ST/39
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alsooffertechnical information regarding theWTO notification requirement which isdirectly related
totheproper functioning oftheOrganization.
Since itsestablishment, theWTO hasproved itsindispensability with its132Member
countries andwithmany others waiting tojoin. Inthiscontext, Turkey hasalways supported the
applicant countries ontheirwaytobecoming WTO Members. Weareconfident thattheiraccession
willgreatly contribute totheglobal welfare.
With thisinmind, wesincerely hope toseethattheongoing negotiations foraccession of
applicant countries areconcluded bythenextMinisterial Meeting in1999.
Ontheother hand, astheTurkish Government attaches value tothetrade-creating effects and
thecomplementary dimension oftheRegional Trade Agreements intheworld trading system, wetake
pleasure toseethatthenumber ofsuchagreements increased considerably afterthe1990s. Infact,
69regional agreements were notified totheGATT/WTO outofwhich 50agreements havebeen
notified during thepost-1990 period.
Inthisspecific context, Iwishtomake reference toTurkey ’scustoms union experience with
theEuropean Union which resulted inmuch lowered customs duties andinturnbetter market access
forthirdcountries inindustrial products.
Iwould alsoliketoexpress mysatisfaction regarding attainments reached within the
framework oftheInformation Technology Agreement (ITA). Asanoriginal party totheAgreement,
Turkey considers thatthissectoral initiative isanother positive steptaken toreach freertrade.
Thedecision taken fortheelimination oftariffs intheareaofinformation technology was
perhaps oneofthemostsignificant outcomes oftheSingapore Ministerial Conference. Ihopeitwill
bring outitspositive repercussions intheveryshort-term notonlyininformation technology sector
butgenerally inoverall prosperity. Inthiscontext, Iwould liketoexpress mybelief thatthiskind
ofsectoral initiatives arecomplementary tools forglobal tariff liberalization.
Attaching great importance totheefforts toenlarge thescope oftheinformation technology
products, we,astheTurkish Government, closely observe andactively participate inthework ofthe
ITACommittee.
Likewise, weconsider thesuccessful conclusion ofnegotiations onfinancial services as
another important achievement intheliberalization oftrade. Iamcertain thatthedetermination
displayed bythenegotiating countries isrealevidence ofdevotion tofreetrade, economic stability,
growth anddevelopment. Asaconsequence ofthese negotiations, over95percentoftheglobal
trade inthefinancial sector isgoing tobecovered bythedisciplines andrules oftheWTO.
Theconclusion ofthenegotiations hasalsocoincided withafinancial turmoil thatsome of
theASEAN countries experienced recently.
Webelieve theAgreement onFinancial Services should alsobeevaluated fromthispoint of
view.
Furthermore, wewelcome thesuccessful andtimely conclusion ofthenegotiations onbasic
telecommunications on15February 1997.
Itisourexpectation thatthetime-frames fornegotiations andreviews indicated intheother
WTO Agreements willbesimilarly respected ineachcase.WT/MIN(98)/ST/39
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TheWTO alsoprovides usaforum tonegotiate trade andtrade related issues, inthefields
thathavenotbeencovered bytheWTO Agreements. Within thiscontext, Iwould liketonotewith
satisfaction theefforts proceeding intheWorking Groups onTrade andCompetition aswellason
Trade andInvestment.
Asthetaskcarried outbythese twogroups willbeinformative innature, theymaystillneed
timetofinalize theirwork. Nevertheless webelieve thatfuture negotiations onsuch“newissues ”
should only takeplace after reaching aconsensus among WTO Members onthebasis ofa
comprehensive andcareful analysis.
Inthefieldofcompetition, theexamination conducted bytheWorking Group willsurely
provide benefits especially tothecountries nothaving national competition policies. Bearing inmind
theimportance ofcompetition policies intheglobalization attempts, astheyfacilitate trade, we
welcome thework undertaken bytheWorking Group onInteraction between Trade andCompetition
Policy. Weconsider thatsound andmultilaterally accepted competition policies willfurther serve
toliberalize world trade byopening markets onthebasis ofthesame criteria.
Electronic commerce isanother areagaining weight recently. Thistopic maybeoneofthe
vitalissues ontheagenda offorthcoming multilateral trade negotiations.
Accordingly, Turkey attaches particular importance andpriority tothismatter andexerts
considerable efforts tobeprepared fortheregulatory framework.
However, weshould alsokeepinmind therapidly growing needforestablishing appropriate
infrastructure particularly forthedeveloping countries inthisfield.
Allow metohighlight some arrangements theTurkish Government hasmade withregard to
WTO Agreement onTrade Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Through
structural changes introduced tointellectual property regime wehavereached acomprehensive legal
framework. Thenewlawsonpatents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications and
copyrights willfurther enhance thislegalstructure.
Iwould liketoemphasize theimportance weattach tothefullimplementation ofthe
TRIPS Agreement. Inthisconnection Iwould liketounderline theneed toextend thescope of
geographical indications beyond wines andspirits tofoodstuffs, agricultural andindustrial products,
andhandicrafts including carpets.
Iwould like toconclude mywords byreiterating myconviction that this
Ministerial Conference willmark animportant stepinstrengthening ourpledges towards the
establishment ofcohesion andprosperity intheworld.
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