WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/6
9December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5177)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
DENMARK
Statement byMr.PoulNielson
Minister forDevelopment Cooperation
IwouldliketothankyouandtheGovernmentofSingaporeforhostingthishistoricalConference.
Youhaveoffered usaprivileged opportunity toobserve theadmirable progress achieved bythepeople
ofSingapore, andtoenjoy thewarm Singapore hospitality aswellasyourperfect arrangements for
thisimportant Ministerial Conference.
Itisoftheutmost importance thattheSingapore Conference sendaclearsignal thattheWTO
hastaken offwithsuccess. Implementation oftheUruguay Round result isproceeding. TheSingapore
Conference willendorse aforward-looking work programme. Thestrengthened dispute settlement
system hasturned outtobe-aswehadhoped -astrong assetforinternational trade.
Denmarkisamongthestaunchestsupportersofliberalizationintheframeworkofthemultilateral
trading system. Weareasmall andopen economy. Danish exporters andimporters areactive in
allregions oftheglobe. Wetrade across awide range ofgoods, services andintellectual property
rights. Formany countries foreign trade corresponds toaround 10percentofGNP. ForDenmark
thefigure isashighas35percent. Theimportance which Denmark attaches totrade liberalization
isareflection ofthese facts.
Itisalsobecause ofthese factsthatwepushfortheWTO tobeforward-looking. Theworld
ischanging, andtheissues facing international trade arechanging asaresult. Intheinterest oftrade
liberalization theWTO hastokeepupwiththese changes.
Iamgoing tohighlight twotopics onwhich theWTO must focus inthefuture inorder to
maintain itspivotal role.
First: tradeanddeveloping countries. Itisofgreat satisfaction tomyGovernment towitness
thelargenumber ofdeveloping countries which haverecently acceded toorarecurrently intheprocess
ofacceding totheWTO. Fullparticipation inthemultilateral trading system -including thespecial
anddifferential treatment which theWTO offers -isafundamental toolforeconomic development.
Butasweknow, integration ofdeveloping countries intothesystem isnoteasy(forwhich there is
avariety ofreasons).
Mypoint isthattheissue must beatthecentre oftheWTO 'sattention. Ipledge my
Government 'sstrong support forefforts aiming inthisdirection. ThisConference willtakeastep
along thatpath. Butmuch remains tobedone. Market access andtechnical assistance areamong
theinstruments atourdisposal. Denmark advocates asubstantial useofboth. Weareinfavour of
zerotariff onindustrial goods from LLDC 's,andweareamong those whoareready togofurther.
Denmark alsosupports better market access inagriculture andfisheries. AyearagomyGovernmentWT/MIN(96)/ST/6
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offered toWTO Secretariat financial support initsendeavours inthefieldoftechnical assistance.
Itakethisopportunity torenew ouroffer.
Thesecond topicIwanttohighlight istheconsumer. Theconsumer isbecoming increasingly
powerful ininternational trade. Thattrend willcontinue. Letmegiveyouanexample: earlier this
yearamajor European company wasinterested ininvesting inafactory inadifferent partoftheworld
tosupply thatgeographic region. Adecision onthelocation ofthefactory hadbeenmade. Thecompany
hadtochange itsmind. Why? Because consumers inEurope threatened aboycott oftheproducts
ofthecompany. Consumers feltthatthecountry which wastobetheexport basefortheregion did
notrespect fundamental labour rights. Theconsumer forced thecompany tomake theinvestment in
adifferent country.
Iftheconsumer feelsthattheWTO takes nointerest inhismain concerns, theWTO andthe
aimofliberalization oftrade willlosepublic support. Thatisakeyreason whyDenmark -oneof
thestaunchest supporters ofthemultilateral trading system -urges theWTO tomove ahead on
environment andfundamental labour rights.
Theoutcome oftwoyears work intheWTO ontrade andenvironment isdisappointing. If
theWTO istomaintain itscredibility itwillhavetomake anappropriate response toapublic concern
ofthehighest priority.
Work willcontinue onthebasisoftheresult which hasbeenachieved. Denmark willcontinue
togivetrade andenvironment ourfullest attention. TheEUproposal onMultilateral Environmental
Agreementswillbeaprioritytopic.Thetimehascometoexpanddiscussionofenvironmentalprinciples,
asforinstance theprecautionary principle.
Iwanttoemphasize thatrestricting trade flows isnotnormally themost efficient means to
protect theenvironment. Response number oneisandremains national environmental policies. But
incertain cases trade willhavetomake acontribution.
Trade liberalization isanecessary condition forpromoting economic growth andbetter living
standards. InthiswaytheWTO contributes topromoting fundamental labour rights. However, for
thereasons Ihavealready mentioned theWTO hastodomore. Itismyconviction thattheWTO
should setupaworking party toanalyse thelinkbetween tradeandfundamental labour rights. Iwould
emphasize thatasanation dependent onfreetrade wewould refuse anydiscussion ofcomparative
advantages. Forthesame reason wewould reject thenotion ofsanctions.
What Ihavesaidabout environment andfundamental labour rights alsoapplies toinvestment
andcompetition:
FortheWTO toremain theleading force intrade liberalization theorganization must deal
withtheissues confronting international trade. Anoperational response isrequired inrelation to
investment andcompetition.
Theaimofourendeavours isglobal tradeliberalization. Thevehicle forthis,firstandforemost,
istheWTO. AkeyroleintheWTO isthatanyregional trading arrangement mustbeWTO-consistent.
Anarrangement which isnotcomplementary toandsupportive ofthemultilateral trading system is
anobstacle toglobal trade liberalization. Denmark is,ofcourse, alsointhisareainfavour ofgiving
special treatment todeveloping countries.
Oneofthegreatest strides forward made intheUruguay Round wastheinclusion intothe
multilateral trading system oftradeinservices. Akeytaskforfuture WTO negotiations willbefurtherWT/MIN(96)/ST/6
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liberalization inthisfield. Withtherapidly growing importance toworld trade oftheservices sector
ourambitions mustbehigh. Anagreement inanyonesector which doesnotentail arealliberalization
defies thepurpose. Wemustgivefullattention totheongoing negotiations onbasictelecommunications
andIbelieve thatwewillbesuccessful. Likewise wemust givefullattention totheupcoming
negotiations onfinancial services.
Another major achievement oftheUruguay Round waslaying thefoundations forfuture
liberalization ofinternational tradeinagricultural products. Being amajor producer andtrader inthis
sector Denmark isready forsubstantial improvements.
Thetraditional areaofwork forthemultilateral trading system -market access ofgoods -is
anundisputed success story. Butwork remains tobedone. IntheareaofInformation Technology
more must bedone inorder tokeeppacewiththenewtechnologies. Anagreement tobindtariffs
oninformation technology equipment atzerowould beamajor step,beneficial toallparties -exporters
andimporters. Such anagreement would demonstrate theability oftheWTO tokeeppacewiththe
information society.
Thenumber ofmembers oftheWorld Trade Organization islikely toincrease further. Denmark
welcomes thisdevelopment. Inparticular wearepleased tonotetheinterest expressed bydeveloping
countries andcountries intransition. Welookforward toseeing close neighbours, including the
Baltic States, inthemembership aswellaspartners which arecloseintrading terms albeit alittlefurther
away geographically speaking.
Letmeclose byjoining those whohaveexpressed thehope thattheSingapore Ministerial
Conference willmark thecontinuation of50years ofmultilateral trade liberalization inaspirit of
openness tothechallenges ahead ofus.Better livesforbillions ofpeople areinthebalance.