WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/60
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5251)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
SINGAPORE
Statement byH.E. Mr.MahBowTan
Minister forCommunications
Significance ofUruguay Round: Inclusion ofservices
Colleagues whospoke before mehaverightfully pointed outtheimpressive achievements of
theUruguay Round. Itscomprehensive coverage hasraised global tradeliberalization toahigher plane.
Itssignificance extends beyond thelarge number oftariff andnon-tariff barriers reduced orremoved
andthestrengthening ofthedispute settlement mechanism. WiththeURAgreements, theinternational
trading agenda hasfinally beenextended beyond thetrade inindustrial goods, toseveral newsectors.
Onekeynewsector isservices. Theservices sector hasbecome animportant pillar of
international trade. From 1982to1992, worldwide exports ofservices grewatanannual rateof15per
cent,oneandahalftimes thegrowth rateforgoods. By1994, world exports ofservices wereworth
almost US$1.1 trillion, more thanonequarter ofworldwide exports ofgoods.
Theinclusion ofservices intheURwastherefore asignificant move, acknowledging the
importance ofthissector ininternational trade. TheGeneral Agreement onTrade inServices (GATS)
constitutes thefirstsetofmultilateral rules forthetrade inservices, replacing theprevailing adhoc
andoften capricious bilateral arrangements. WTO Members haveeachcommitted toschedules on
increasing access toawiderange ofservices, andthiswillfurther boost thetradeofservices worldwide.
Inaddition, theUruguay Round Agreements marked theinitiation ofanewapproach to
liberalization. Ministers agreed inMarrakesh toexperiment withasectoral approach toservices
negotiations. Thesectoral approach wasthought tooffergreater flexibility byallowing negotiations
onfourkeyservices sectors -financial services, basictelecommunications services, maritime transport
services andthemovement ofnatural persons -toproceed independently ofoneanother attheirown
pace.
Progress ofsectoral services negotiations
Unfortunately, onlythenegotiations onthemovement ofnatural persons havebeenconcluded.
Theothersectoralnegotiationshaveendedwiththeirdeadlinesbeingextended-basictelecommunications
toFebruary 1997, financial services toDecember 1997 andmaritime services negotiations toresume
intheyear2000.
Sohowshould onejudge theeffectiveness ofthisexperiment, ofthisnewapproach totrade
negotiations? Hasitworked? Isitmore effective thantraditional enblocnegotiations ofGATT?
Ithink thejuryisstillout.WT/MIN(96)/ST/60
Page2
Thetheoretical advantage ofsectoral negotiations arewellrecognized. Itwould therefore be
apitytodecide thatsectoral negotiations areineffective.
Iwould urgecolleagues tousetheopportunity ofthisSMC toreview thesectoral approach
tonegotiations, andcollectively giveitapolitical pushtoensure thatthesectoral negotiations remain
ontrack andachieve satisfactory conclusions.
Toward successful conclusion ofthebasic telecommunications
Negotiation
Onesuchsectoral negotiation awaiting satisfactory conclusion isonbasic telecommunications
services. Thedeadline isonlytwomonths away. There aretworeasons whyWTO Members should
make aconcerted effort toconclude thisnegotiation successfully. One, asuccessful conclusion will
beaclearpronouncement oftheeffectiveness ofthesectoral approach. Two, itwould beareaffirmation
oftheWTO 'sobjective topursue further trade liberalization andtomaintain themomentum ofsuch
efforts.
Asabeneficiary ofglobal freetrade, Singapore willplayanactive parttocontribute tothe
successful conclusion ofthebasictelecom negotiations nextyear. Inthisregard, Iamhappy toannounce
thatSingapore willfurther improve itscurrent offer made attheNegotiating Group onBasic
Telecommunications.
Singapore 'simproved offer
When weprivatized ourgovernment-operated telecom service andlisted theoperator onthe
stock market in1993, wegaveitamonopoly licence toprovide basic telecom services tilltheyear
2007.
Theyears sincethenhaveseendramatic changes intheindustry -brought about bytechnological
advances andchanges intheregulatory environment. Such changes forced ustoreview thelicence
given totheoperator. Wedecided thatamonopoly granted forsuchalongtimewasnotsustainable.
AttheNegotiating Group onBasic Telecommunications, wetabled whatwasthebestofferpossible
atthetime, i.e.,1April 2002asthedateforintroducing competition toourindustry. Thisofferwas
madeonlythreeyearsafterprivatization,andbroughtforwardcompetitionbyfiveyearsfromtheoriginal
schedule.
Thereview didnotstophere. Wementioned thisatthetimetheofferwasmade. TheSingapore
Government hassincedecided thatthemonopoly forbasictelecom services willendon31March 2000.
Thisisseven years ahead oftheoriginal schedule of2007.
Webelieve thatthiswillfurther enhance Singapore 'scompetitiveness andourroleasaregional
telecoms hub. Toshow support forthemultilateral trading system andtomake apositive contribution
tomove thebasictelecom negotiations forward, Singapore willbindtheyear2000schedule tointroduce
competition forthebasic telecom services asanoffer totheGroup onBasic Telecommunications.
Thisisanimprovement oftwoyears overourexisting offer onthetable.
Wewillcontinue toreview ourtelecom industry structure. Wewillbeguided byourbelief
thatcompetition brings about better services andmore competitive prices forconsumers. Wewill
beopen andresponsive totherevolutionary changes sweeping thisindustry worldwide. Where
appropriate, wewillintroduce further changes toourindustry andofferthese ascommitments atthe
multilateral level.WT/MIN(96)/ST/60
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Conclusion
Asweneartheendofthenegotiations onbasic telecommunications, there isincreasing
commonality ofinterests among bothindustrialized anddeveloping countries alike. Amore open,
transparent andpredictable structure forbasictelecom services willmaximize theirinvestment appeal,
promote growth across alleconomic sectors, andenhance thestandard ofliving fortheircitizens.
What isatstake hereisnotsimply thesovereignty ofnational telecom regimes. Rapid and
radical changes intechnology canbeaglobal factor forprogress. Evenifwecan,weresist thegrowing
tideofchanges atgreat cost. Increasingly, physical borders arebreached, astheInternet today has
amply demonstrated andasglobal satellite communications willdointhenot-too-distant future. What
isatstake isexpedient andready access toinformation, themostimportant rawmaterial ofthe21st
century. Through anopenandliberalized telecommunications regime, allcountries, developed and
developing, canexploit thisrawmaterial forthebenefit ofourpeople.
Basic telecommunications isonlyoneofthekeycomponents oftheinformation age.Tofully
tapwhatITcanoffer, itisnecessary toensure thatrelevant equipment iswidely available atthelowest
possible cost.
Herein liestheimportance oftheproposed Information Technology Agreement (ITA). Itis
notsimply atariff removal exercise butonethatwillgreatly amplify thebenefits ofourefforts to
liberalize basic telecommunications. Singapore supports theITAinitiative. Westand ready tojoin
theITAandlookforward toachieving themaximum outcome possible bytheendofthismeeting.
Itisinourinterests, individual andcollective, tosafeguard thecredibility oftheWTO and
themultilateral trading system itrepresents. Asuccessful conclusion tothebasictelecoms negotiations
aswellasconclusion oftheITAwillmake amajor contribution inthisregard.
IfImayrepeat thewords ofPrime Minister GohChok Tong attheopening ofthisConference
onMonday, letus"seize themoment andtakeasignificant collective stepforward towards acohesive
andprosperous world".