WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/1
9December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5173)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE Original: English/French
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
CANADA
Statement bytheHonourable Arthur C.Eggleton,
Minister forInternational Trade
Itiswithgreatpleasure thatIrepresent Canada atthefirstMinisterial Conference oftheWorld
Trade Organization. Theworld community tookaboldandoptimistic steptwoyears agoinestablishing
theWTO attheconclusion oftheUruguay Round. While wecanbesatisfied withourprogress to
date,thisconference isourchance toprovide political guidance totheWTO inestablishing itspriorities
forthefuture.
OurMembers agreed twoyears agothatinternational tradeshould begoverned byauniversal
setofrulesdesigned formutual benefit. Weagreed thattrade should begoverned bytheruleoflaw,
andnotbyeconomic leverage, threats orsanctions. Canada remains committed tothebelief thatthis
Organization, asitevolves toinclude more goods, more services, andmore countries, willcreate an
environment where stable economic growth, improved standards ofliving, andproductive employment
areavailable toall.
Canada alsobelieves theneedforauniversal trading system willbeenhanced, notdiminished,
bytheformation ofregional trade agreements. MyGovernment 'svision ofthefuture isnotoneof
impenetrable trading fortresses, butoneoffreetrade across allregions. Canada --asamember of
NAFTA, andastrong supporter oftheWTO Committee onRegional Trade Agreements --isliving
proof thatthetwocanbemutually compatible.
Canada 'svision forthetwoisbothboldandrealistic: ourultimate goalisaworld inwhich
goods, services andinvestment flowfreely across national borders, under acommon setofrules
established byuniversal agreement. Only theWTO offers thehope ofsuchafuture, andonlyby
establishing ambitious goals forourselves now,willthisbodyreinforce itsprimacy among thegrowing
number ofregional trade initiatives around theworld.
Initsbriefhistory, theWTO hasalready seenproof ofitsnecessity andeffectiveness. Inour
firstyear, byimplementing significant tariffcutsandarange ofnewagreements, wehavecontributed
toan8percentgrowth intrade ingoods --larger thanglobal growth inproduction.
Thefairandefficient resolution ofasignificant number oftrade disputes hasalsoboosted
business confidence inthemultilateral system.
Butwemustbemindful thatourmission haslesstodowithcreating world trade thanwith
managing theexplosion intrade which ishappening regardless ofourefforts. Canada hasdoubled
itsexports inthepastdecade, tothepoint where exports nowaccount for40percentofCanada 's
economy, thehighest among theG-7countries. Iamreminded ofGandhi whosaid: "there gomy
people. Imust rushtothefront toleadthem".WT/MIN(96)/ST/1
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TheWTO mustrespond tothedemands ofworld trade, andrespond quickly, ifitistomaintain
itsleadership role. Thatiswhywemustfinally square away theunfinished business oftheUruguay
Round. Thatisalsowhywemust beunafraid toventure intonewandunexplored territory.
Despite ourbestefforts, wehavenotbeenabletoagree ontheliberalization ofsomekeyservices
sectors. Iamexpecting thismeeting toaffirm itscommitment tothesuccessful completion ofthebasic
telecommunications negotiations bythedeadline of15February 1997.
Iwelcome agreement ontheresumption offinancial services negotiations earlynextyear, with
aviewtotheirsuccessful conclusion in1997.
Much work remains tobedone withregard totransparency. Although trade policies and
regulations havebecome moretransparent, through thetradepolicy review mechanism, WTO Members
stillhavemuch room toimprove, particularly withnotification ofnational measures andthetimely
provision ofpublic access toWTO documents.
Itisalsomyexpectation thatwork willcontinue inthenewyearinunderstanding thelinkages
between trade andtheenvironment. Canada supports theapplication ofWTO rulestoeco-labelling,
andseeks amore thorough examination oftheinterplay between multilateral environmental andtrade
agreements.
Finally, while theUruguay Round hadmade itpossible fordeveloping countries togainbetter
access toworld markets, more needs tobedonetoensure theiractual participation. Forthisreason,
Canada proposed aspecial meeting in1997 toenhance thecoordination oftheprovision oftechnical
assistance.
But,asIhave said, wemust demonstrate totheworld ourability tokeep pacewiththe
rapidly-changing demands ofglobalization, which requires ustomove thetrade agenda forward. We
mustseizethisopportunity toagree ontimely newinitiatives, inparticular theinformation technology
agreement. TheWTO cannot beblind totheglobal revolution incommunications technology which
istaking place, norcanitdenytheadvantages flowing tocommerce fromthereduced costs ofdoing
business onaglobal scale. Iencourage allWTO Members tojoininthese negotiations, which offer
benefits todeveloped anddeveloping nations alike. TheWTO willinspire confidence ifitcan
demonstrate thatitisflexible enough tomeettheneeds ofinternational business.
Ibelieve weshould continue ourefforts tofurther reduce tariffs, toaccelerate thetariff cuts
contained intheMarrakesh schedules, andtobroaden thenumber ofzero-for-zero agreements, including
oilseeds andaluminium.
Wemustbegin discussion onissues suchasinvestment andcompetition policy, which areof
central importance tothetrading system. Foreign direct investment isnowgrowing faster thantrade,
anditisamajor contributor togrowth, development andjobcreation.
ThatiswhyCanada hastaken theleadincalling forthestartofwork todevelop abetter
understandingamongWTOMembersoftherelationbetweentradeandinvestment.Wearenotproposing
theinitiationofnegotiations.AndwewantactivecooperationbetweentheWTOandotherorganizations,
suchastheUNCTAD, toimprove ourunderstanding ofthese issues.
Suchmeasures would signal thepolitical willingness ofthisOrganization toadapt totheneeds
ofglobal trade, while serving theinterests ofitsmember States. Thebenefits ofworld trade areto
allourcountries 'benefit, whatever ourlevelofdevelopment. Wecanallviewwithsatisfaction theWT/MIN(96)/ST/1
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progress which hasbeenmade todate,butthefullimplementation oftheUruguay Round willnotmark
theendofourwork, onlythebeginning.
Thirty-five years ago,theCanadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan firstcoined theuseofthe
word "media", todescribe allforms ofcommunication, andpredicted theelectronic agewould lead
tothecreation ofthe"global village". Today, thisvillage isareality, anditsmarket square covers
theearth.
Economic integration, theresult ofincreased flows oftrade andinvestment, isdriven by
individuals seeking toimprove theircircumstances.
There isaperception thatsomehow increasing trade flows maybeharmful --thatitleads to
joblosses, notjobcreation. While theILOistheprimary forum fordealing withcorelabour standards,
we,intheWTO, needtorespond totheseconcerns byshowing thatincreased adherence toarules-based
system together withfurther trade liberalization leads togreater economic growth which benefits us
all.
TheWTO isnottheGATT. Wenowhaveaforum inwhich wecandiscuss suchissues.
A50thanniversary celebration would letusdiscuss whether thisnewinstitution hasalltheright
machinery orwhether weneedtoprovide some further political guidance.
Thechoice before usisclear: wecanrefuse toadapt, andlosetheprimacy ofthisOrganization
andtheopportunity itoffers forarational, stable framework forabetter standard ofliving through
trade. Or,wecanaccept thatweareliving inaglobal village, andmake iteasier forourcitizens
toparticipate intheglobal marketplace.
Iencourage thisConference totakethesecond approach, sothatwecanmanage world market
forces effectively, andharness theirgood effects forthepeople ofourrespective countries.