WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/48
10December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5207)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
NETHERLANDS
Statement byH.E. Mrs. Anneke VanDok-Van Weele
Minister forForeign Trade
TheNetherlands isacountry which formany centuries hasbuiltitsprosperity onforeign trade
andinvestment. Traders andinvestors need anopen, predictable andrule-based international
environment. Themultilateral trading system provides justthat.Thisexplains whywealways staunchly
supported GATT andwhyweareanevenmore ardent fanofWTO.
This firstMinisterial Conference iscrucial. TheWTO isstillyoung andneeds tobe
consolidated. Wemusttherefore ensure thatcommitments made arefullyimplemented. Abiding by
itsrules fordispute settlement andnotresorting tounilateralism arefundamental inthisrespect.
ThisConference, however, mustdomore thanreaffirm. First, tomaintain itscredibility, the
WTO must demonstrate itsability tofurther liberalize trade. Weshould notgiveintonegotiation
fatigue. There isaclear gapinthebuilt-in agenda forindustrial tariffs negotiations andstillample
room forfurther action. TheNetherlands stands ready todiscuss anynewinitiative toeliminate or
diminish barriers totradeingoods andservices. Inparticular Iwanttohighlight theneedforasuccess
inthecoming negotiations onbasic telecom andfinancial services. Ialsohopethatagreement can
soonbereached onabalanced ITAthataddresses allmarket barriers. Results inthese three areas
areimportant fortheglobal information society.
Second, theWTO andthisConference must boldly confront newchallenges thataremany
andvaried.
Therapid proliferation ofpreferential regional trade agreements isoneofthese challenges.
Regional economic integration is,ofcourse, apositive phenomenon, butshould notresult intrade-
diverting discrimination. TheWTO must therefore closely monitor suchtrade agreements ontheir
fullcompatibility withWTO rulesandassess theirsystemic effects onthemultilateral trading system.
Ifnot,there isariskthattheworld willbedivided intoinward-looking trading blocks withthe
WTO Members, whose poverty makes themunattractive economic partners, thebiglosers. Keygoals
aretoensure thatmost-favoured-nation treatment doesnotbecome leastfavoured-nation treatment and
thatregional andmultilateral trade liberalization ultimately converge infreetrade worldwide!
Thenextchallenge concerns therelationship withenvironment, towhich wealready agreed
inMarrakesh andwhich remains ahighpriority. Anopen trading system andprotection ofthe
environment aremutually supportive inthepursuit ofsustainable development. Wemustmake this
policy statement areality inpractice. Ifnot,wewillgetrichontheroadtoextinction. Iamsatisfied
thattheCommittee onTrade andEnvironment hasproduced some valuable conclusions. However,
Iwould beverydisappointed ifwearenotabletoadopt some concrete results.
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Corelabour standards alsorankhighontheinternational agenda nowadays. These standards
arecrucially important tothewell-being ofallworkers intheworld. Better instruments topromote
theobservance ofthese standards should bedeveloped. Strengthening theILO'sposition and
responsibilities inthisregard isfundamental. Does thismean thatthereisnotaskforthisConference?
No,itdoesnot.TheWTO cannot simply forget about those whoproduce thetradeflows itendeavours
toexpand. Avoiding anongoing dialogue onthissensitive issue doesnothelptogainabetter
understanding ofeachother'sviews andtodispel fears about hidden agendas.
Ifirmlybelievethatexport-driveneconomicgrowthopensnewopportunitiesforsocialprogress.
Observing corelabour standards doesnotweaken acountry 'scompetitive advantage ininternational
trade. Onthecontrary, itismuch more likely tostrengthen it.There is,therefore, novalid reason
whygovernments should notdotheirutmost toensure thatcorelabour standards areobserved. At
thesame time, however, weshould realise thatdeveloping countries cannot accomplish thiswithout
further market access andassistance.
Thisbrings metoafinalchallenge; theneedtopromote thefullparticipation ofdeveloping
countries intheWTO system sothattheytoocanreapthefruits ofmembership. Inmyview, two
things should bedone.
First, asSirLeonBrittan stated yesterday, developed countries andemerging economies should
provideimprovedmarketaccess,especiallyfortheleastdevelopedcountries.Referringtothestatements
ofmycolleagues fromBangladesh andGermany, theNetherlands iswilling togoallthewayandremove
allremaining trade barriers, bothtariff andnon-tariff, fortheleastdeveloped countries. Icallupon
other major trading nations totakeconcrete andmeaningful steps, sothattheWTO Action Planwill
haverealsubstance intheareaofmarket access.
Second,thereisaneedfortechnicalassistancetoenabledevelopingcountriestobetterunderstand
andimplement WTO disciplines andobligations. Thiswillnotonlyassist themtointegrate more fully
intothemultilateral system, itwillalsocreate opportunities forbusiness. TheWTO Secretariat should
playakeyroleinthisassistance. Iampleased toformally announce today thattheNetherlands '
Government willcontribute 4million Dutch guilders -about US$2.5 million -foratrustfundwithin
theWTO tofinance technical assistance. Thistrustfundwillbeopentobothdeveloping countries
andeconomies intransition. Iappeal toother, more advanced, WTO Members tomake similar
contributions. Through suchinitiatives, wecanexpress oursolidarity andourshared responsibility
forcreating astrong andglobal multilateral trading system forthebenefit ofallnations.
Finally, aword about therelationship oftheWTO withtheoutside world, theordinary citizen,
businessman, farmer, worker andtheunemployed, whose continuing support weneed. Wemustmake
amajor effort tobeanopenandtransparent organization. Weshould explain better tooursocieties
atlarge, whyfreetrade canmake suchanimportant contribution formore economic growth and
prosperity worldwide. TheWTO started withanappealing vision ofthefuture. Thatvision needs
tobenurtured. Wetherefore wholeheartedly support Mr.Ruggiero 'sproposal tocelebrate the
50thanniversary ofthemultilateral trading system in1998 atthehighest political level. Atthattime
weshould formulate aclear message what theWTO isallabout andwhich important issues areat
stake inthenextcentury. Butletusalready doourutmost during thisConference tomake thisvision
areality!