WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/107
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5282)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
KENYA
Statement bytheHonourable JoelF.K.Barmasai M.P.
Assistant Minister forCommerce andIndustry
Itisagreat honour andprivilege formetoaddress youonthismomentous occasion ofthe
FirstMinisterial Conference oftheWTO.
Iamalsooverjoyed tobedoing soonthisimportant dayof12December which marks the
33rdanniversary ofmycountry 'sindependence. Inthisconnection, allow metoconvey greetings
andwellwishes from H.E. thePresident andthepeople ofKenya aswecommemorate thishistoric
day.
Permit metojointhose whohavecongratulated youonyourelection, andtoexpress our
satisfaction withthemanner inwhich youhaveconducted thedeliberations ofthisConference sofar.
Youcancount onmydelegation 'ssupport andcooperation.
Allow mealso, toconvey, through you,Sir,mydelegation 'ssincere appreciation, tohis
Excellency thePresident, thePrime Minister, theGovernment, andtheentire people ofSingapore,
forthewarm andwonderful hospitality extended toussince ourarrival inthisbeautiful city. The
facilities thathavebeenplaced atourdisposal areexcellent.
Iwould nowliketoaddress myself tothebusiness ofthisMinisterial Conference. Inthis
connection, Iwishtopoint outattheoutset thatwehavealready beenoverwhelmed bythecurrent
Uruguay Round Agreements.
Weshould nottherefore beoverstretched further through introduction ofyetnewissues to
theWTO Work Programme. Instead, thefocus should beonthetimely implementation ofwhatwe
already have.
Forthisreason,mydelegationattachesalotofimportancetotechnicalassistancethatisnecessary
tofacilitate theintegration ofdeveloping countries intothenewinternational trading system.
Inthisconnection, weappreciate theinitiative taken bytheWTO, inconjunction withUNCTAD
andITC, inimplementing theIntegrated Technical Assistance Programme forselected countries.
Kenya hasbeenoneofthebeneficiaries oftheProgramme, forwhich weareverygrateful
indeed.
Having saidthat,Ifeelthatitisnecessary formetoexpress mydelegation 'sviews onthe
issues thatthisConference hasbeendeliberating onsince Monday.WT/MIN(96)/ST/107
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Trade anddevelopment
Itiswidelyrecognizedthatthepursuitofopenmarket-orientedpolicies,basedonWTOprinciples
iscrucial foreconomic growth anddevelopment.
Most developing countries including mine have, however, experienced problems associated
withadjusting tothenewchallenges resulting from theUruguay Round Agreements.
Inourefforts tosurmount thesechallenges, myGovernment hasputinplace various economic
reform policy measures suchastrade liberalization which include, theabolition ofimport licences on
virtually allimports andtheremoval offoreign exchange controls.
Wehave similarly liberalized thefinancial sector andhave putinplace acomprehensive
privatization programme ofState-owned corporations.
Although theresults ofthese policies arequite encouraging, further reform willrequire the
fullsupport andunderstanding oftheinternational community.
Inthatconnection, Iwishtosalute those whohavehighlighted theproblems oftheweaker
countries intheirstatements. Itismyhopeandexpectation thatourstronger trading partners will
consider positively theproposed planofaction infavour ofthese countries, sothatthey, too,canbe
integrated intothemultilateral trading system.
Accession
FortheWTO tobetrulyuniversal andinorder tostrengthen themultilateral trading system,
mydelegation welcomes countries thatareendeavouring toaccede totheWTO.
Webelieve thatadequate assistance should beaccorded toacceding developing countries. We
needtorapidly bring them onboard andfacilitate theirfullparticipation inthesystem.
Dispute settlement
TheUruguay Round Agreements andtheestablishment oftheWTO resulted inastrong rule-
based system aimed atsafeguarding Members 'interests.
Acentral element inproviding security andpredictability inthefunctioning ofthissystem,
isthedispute settlement mechanism.
Webelieve thatthemachinery hasworked relatively wellforthetrading partners whohave
usedit.
Textiles
Theinclusion ofthetextiles andclothing sector, under thediscipline ofthemultilateral trading
system, hasbeenhailed asoneofthemajor achievements oftheUruguay Round.
However, doubts havearisen astothegenuineness ofsome ofthemajor importing countries,
whose implementation oftheAgreement hasbeenmore inletter thaninspirit.
Forinstance, theproducts thattheyhaveselected forintegration arelargely those thatwere
outside MFA restriction inthefirstplace.WT/MIN(96)/ST/107
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Weseenoimmediatebenefitaccruingtodevelopingcountries,ifproductsoftheirexportinterest
areintegrated onlyinfinalphases oftransition period.
Netfood-importing countries
TheMarrakesh Ministerial Decision onnetfood-importing countries recognized theproblem
ofhigher foodimport billslikely toresult from theAgricultural Reform Programme.
TheDecision called fortheestablishment ofafinancing mechanism toassist affected countries.
Mydelegation reiterates theneedforspeedy implementation oftheDecision.
Trade andenvironment
Intheconduct ofinternational trade, environmental concerns should betaken intoconsideration.
Theissuebefore usishowtouphold andsafeguard anopen, non-discriminatory andequitable
multilateral trading system ontheonehand, andpromote sustainable development, ontheother.
Mydelegation recognizes thatMultilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), represent an
important instrument fortackling global environment problems, butweshould alsobeconscious of
theneedtoprevent environmental concerns from becoming apretext forprotectionism intrade.
We,therefore, donotsupport theuseofunilateral trade measures toprotect theenvironment
outside theterritory ofaMember.
Another areaofinterest tomydelegation ishowtoensure thatenvironmental measures such
aseco-labelling andpackaging requirements remain compatible withfairtrading rules.
TheRioEarth Summit recognized theimportance ofeco-labelling asanenvironmental tool
toassist consumers make informed choices.
However, theproliferation ofdifferent types ofeco-labelling schemes hasraised concerns about
market access problems, especially forsmall-scale exporters incountries likeKenya.
Assistance todeveloping countries inthisareainterms ofaccess torelevant technology and
finance, aswellascapacity building willbenecessary iftheyaretoconform tothelaiddown
requirements.
Trade andlabour standards
TheobligationonMemberStatestoensureadherencetocorelabourstandardsisunquestionable.
Asevidence ofourcommitment tosocial justice, myGovernment hasratified anumber ofILO
Conventions.
Thearguments forlinking tradeandlabour standards arenotconvincing. Hence, anyproposal
toenforce labour standards through themachinery oftheWTO isunacceptable tomycountry.
Wewishtore-emphasize thatissues oflabour standards should belefttotheILOtohandle,
butwithout anylinkage totrade.WT/MIN(96)/ST/107
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Trade, investments andcompetition policy
Investment andcompetition policy issues haveelicited interesting debate before andduring
thisMinisterial Conference.
TheWTO, Trade-Related Investments Measures (TRIMS) Agreement provides forthepossible
inclusion ofinvestment andcompetition policy within fiveyears oftheentry intoforce oftheUruguay
Round Agreements.
Inaddition, during UNCTAD IXConference, UNCTAD wasmandated tocarry outastudy
inthisarea. Theposition ofmydelegation therefore isthatthisissueshould notbehandled byWTO
atthisstage.
Secretariat
Before concluding, Iwishtoexpress Kenya 'sstrong viewthat,astheWTO addresses trade
issues intheir global context, itsSecretariat should similarly bereflective ofthegeographical
representation oftheWTO membership.
Inthisregard, Iwould urgetheDirector-General tocontinue withhislaudable efforts of
increasing Africa 'srepresentation within theSecretariat especially atthehigher echelons.
Finally, Iwishtoreaffirm mycountry 'ssupport andcommitment tothegoals andobjectives
oftheWTO andwishtheOrganization every success.