WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/109
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5278)
Original: French MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
SWITZERLAND
Statement byH.E. Mr.Jean-Pascal Delamuraz
President oftheConfederation
Theholding ofthisfirstMinisterial Conference oftheWorld Trade Organization inSingapore
isreplete withsymbols. Singapore 'sexceptional development isthefruitofatrade policy thatis
determinedly opentotheworld. Itisalsotheconsequence ofsuccessful adaptation totheimperatives
oftheglobalization oftheworld economy.
Theestablishment oftheWTO istheinternational community 'sresponse tothechallenges
raised bythese changes. Thisresponse marks notonlyaconclusion butalsoabeginning.
Theestablishment oftheWTO concludes thecooperation initiated in1947inorder toprevent
anyreturn totheprotectionist trends ofthe1930s, tounderpin theefforts made torebuild economies
destroyed bytheSecond World War, andtoassist countries emerging from colonialism tobecome
integrated intheglobal economy. Itscreation alsomarks thebeginning ofmultilateral cooperation
inaworld nolonger dominated bybipolarity aswellasthestartofmultilateral cooperation thatgoes
beyond tradeingoods alone; itannounces thedawning ofanerainwhich governments havetomanage
economies thatarenolonger delimited bypolitical frontiers.
Today, action bythetrade community must focus onthree areas: strengthening, further
developing andwidening theachievements oftheWorld Trade Organization.
Strengthening
Implementation oftheWTO Agreements hascalled formajor efforts byeachandevery one
ofus,more especially bydeveloping countries, andcontinues todoso.
Oneofthemain objectives oftheUruguay Round wastointegrate developing countries in
themultilateral system. Attheinstitutional level, thisiscoming about, aswecanseeatthisfirst
Ministerial Conference oftheWTO. However, institutional integration must leadtoincreased
participation inworld trade,especially fortheleast-developed countries. Itisvitally necessary to
support theadjustment efforts made bythese countries. TheWTO Plan ofAction forthe
Least-Developed Countries isafirststepinthisdirection. Itshould beimplemented assoonaspossible
through measures thatgenuinely improve theexport outlets oftheleast-developed countries. We
realize thatthetechnical cooperation needs ofdeveloping countries greatly exceed thecapacity ofthe
WTO, therefore, development agencies must combine their efforts. Iplace great hopes inthe
coordination meeting tobeheldinGeneva in1997.
Wemustmake greater efforts intheservices sector aswell. Theobjectives setatMarrakesh
haveonlybeenachieved inpart. Switzerland regrets thisandwillmake every effort toensure that
thenegotiations aresuccessfully concluded within thetime-limits fixed. More substantial commitments
based onthemost-favoured-nation clause willalsohavetobeundertaken inthefinancial services sector.
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Basic telecommunications playagrowing roleintheeconomy, andconsequently theconclusion of
theongoing negotiations isofmajor importance. Switzerland iscurrently making far-reaching changes
toitslegislation inthisareasothatitwillhave therequired legal basis tomake asignificant
improvement initsoffer.
Secondly, theneed forfurther development
Firstofall,therelationship between trade andenvironment mustbedeveloped further. The
work undertaken hashighlighted thecomplexity oftheissue, butIregret thatmore concrete results
werenotachieved. Onepriority mustbetoensure theconsistency oftheWTO 'sruleswithmultilateral
environmental agreements. Consistency alsomeans closer coordination among those responsible for
trade andenvironmental policies. Wemust seetothisatboththenational andinternational levels.
TheGATT 'smajor achievement wastheimprovement ofmarket access. Thismust remain
ontheWTO 'sagenda, while atthesametimethebalances agreed uponmustberespected. Switzerland
welcomes theprospects forfurther liberalization oftrade ininformation technology products and
pharmaceuticals andwillplayitspart.Another welcome development would bemultilateral disciplines
ontransparency andrespect forgovernment procurement procedures.
Lastly, theneed towiden
Onepreliminary observation isthatduring thisdecade foreign investment hasincreased more
rapidly thanglobal exports. Investment andtrade arenowclosely linked. Inorder todevelop, they
bothrequire apredictable andconsistent multilateral framework andtheWTO mustplayitsnatural
roleinestablishing suchaframework.
Furthermore, many barriers totrade erected bygovernments havebeendismantled overthe
pastdecade. Wemust ensure thatthepositive effects ofthisprocess arenotnullified by
extra-governmental obstacles totrade. Consequently, therelationship between competition policies
andtrade isanother subject which theWTO should examine more closely.
Lastly, Iwishtorefertotherelationship between trade andinternationally recognized labour
standards. Thisissue goesbeyond thestrict boundaries oftrade soitishardly surprising ifitisthe
subject oflively discussion. Nevertheless, weagree onthree points: ourundertaking torespect core
labour standards, rejection oftheuseofprotectionist measures toimpose respect forthese standards,
andtheleading roleoftheILOindrafting andimplementing suchstandards. Itwould bedesirable
tobegin toreflect onthisissue inclose cooperation withtheILO.
Globalization oftheeconomy isnotapolicy. Itistheconsequence ofmany policies and
developments. Forthemain part, itisafact. Aspolitical leaders, itisourdutytoensure that
globalization isadvantageous toall.Wemusttherefore meetthechallenges facing us:malnutrition,
poverty, unemployment. Responding tothese bygiving intothetemptation ofprotectionism could
onlyworsen thesituation. Onthecontrary, without faltering wemustfollow thepathweopened up
byestablishing theWTO. Onlyastrong multilateral trading system based onrulesadapted tothecurrent
economic situation willallow allofustomake themost ofglobalization.
Isincerely hope thatweremember thiswhen difficulties orevencrises arise, astheydoin
anynegotiation.
Iwould notliketoconclude without expressing mygratitude totheGovernment ofSingapore
fortheexcellent organization ofthisMinisterial Conference andforitswarm hospitality. Mythanks
alsogototheDirector-General, Renato Ruggiero, andtothestaffoftheWTO Secretariat fortheir
contribution tothesuccess ofthisfirstMinisterial Conference oftheWTO.