WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/71/Rev.1*
20May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2171)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18-19 May 1998
THAILAND
Statement Circulated byH.E.Dr.Supachai Panitchpakdi,
Deputy Prime Minister andMinister ofCommerce
Revision
First ofall,letmeexpress mydeep gratitude totheChairman oftheMinisterial Conference, H.E.
Mr.Pascal Couchepin andtheSwiss Government aswellasthepeople ofSwitzerland fortheir hospitality and
contribution tothesuccess ofthisimportant event. Ialsowould liketoexpress mysincere appreciation tothe
Director-General, Mr.Renato Ruggiero andallthestaff attheWTO Secretariat fortheir hard work and
dedication throughout theyearaswellastheir special effort inmaking thisMinisterial Conference asuccess.
This yearmarks the50th Anniversary ofthemultilateral trading system. This occasion isindeed
special. Itrepresents alandmark inmodern economic history which hasgone through alongroad towards
liberalization. Wehave come alongwaysince nations recognized theriskofgovernments pursuing restrictive
economic policies inprotecting theirwar-torn economies fiftyyears ago,andatthattimedecided topursue an
outward-looking andmore open trade policy.
Multilateral trading systems asengine forworld growth
Thesetting upofmultilaterally agreed disciplines, various tariff-cutting Rounds, theconciliation and
dispute settlement within theframework oftheGATT aswellastheadherence tothebasic principle ofnon-
discrimination have, toanimpressive extent, contributed tothestability andpredictability, hence, growth in
international trade.
Itisrecognized thattheconclusion oftheUruguay Round signified themost comprehensive andfar-
reaching reform byfarandendorsed confidence inthemultilateral trading system. Themost significant results
oftheRound were theinclusion ofimportant newagreements suchasagriculture, textiles, services, intellectual
property rights andtrade-related investment measures, andtheestablishment oftheWTO anditsnewandmore
effective dispute settlement mechanism.
Allthisoccurred atatimeofchanging world economic environment andgreater callforequitable share
ofeconomic anddevelopment fruit. Given this,itisbothopportune anduseful toexamine andevaluate our
performance thusfarandsetavision forourfuture.
Implementation
Ingeneral, theoverall implementation oftheUruguay Round hasproceeded inaccordance withthe
commitments entailed invarious WTO Agreements. Butitmust alsobenoted thatthere areareas where greater
efforts areneeded from Members tomeet their obligations. Inthisregard, genuine endeavour and
determination must beexerted byallMembers incomplying withtheagreements inorder toachieve fulland
faithful implementation ofthecommitments. Among others, thefollowing areas ofimplementation should be
highlighted.
*Editing changes inEnglish only.1. Agriculture
Itisthefirsttimethatground rules onthesubject ofagriculture were set.Werecognise thatthishas
been abigstepforward, however, implementation ofagriculture commitments during thepastyears have
indicated thatthere isstillroom forimprovement.
1.1 Some Members haveyettodemonstrate theirearnest exertion tofullyabide bythestipulated
obligations.
1.2 Strict compliance totariff reductions andelimination ofmarket access restrictions, subsidies
anddistortions areneeded totruly bring about afairandmarket-oriented agricultural trading
system.
1.3 Members areurged tointensify their effort tofully conform withtheAgreement onSanitary
andrefrain from using sanitary andphytosanitary measures asdisguised trade barriers.
2. Textiles andclothing
Textiles andclothing isanother areaofmarked achievement oftheUruguay Round. Itisimportant
thatthistrade must truly beintegrated intotherule-based andnon-discriminatory system ofGATT within the
stipulated time-frame. Thefirsttwostages ofintegration reveal thatliberalization inthissector hasnotbeen
meaningful todeveloping countries. Most oftheproducts under restrictions remain tobeintegrated towards
theendofthetransition period. Such eventuality poses aserious obstacle atachieving smooth andeffective
transition intoGATT. While onlyafewquantitative restrictions have been eliminated inthefirstseven years
oftheAgreement, newbarriers totrade including repeated anti-dumping actions aswellasother customs and
administrative formalities imposed bydeveloped countries haveunnecessary added tounfair restrictions against
imports from developing countries. Theunsparing useoftransition safeguard measures hadalsoeroded the
benefits, ifany,derived from theimplementation sofar. Inthislight, wecallforMembers to:
2.1 Resolve toensuring fullandfaithful implementation oftheprovisions oftheAgreement on
Textile andClothing;
2.2 resist attempts towards protectionism; and
2.3 adopt immediate andpositive measures todemonstrate commitment toliberalization and
elimination ofdiscriminatory treatment.
WealsocallfortheTextile Monitoring Body, asthesupervising body oftheagreement, toprovide
andensure transparency initsfunctioning andtoadhere toaproper standard ofreview consistent withthe
precedents which havebeen established bythePanel andAppellate decisions relating totheimplementation of
theAgreement.
3. Anti-dumping
Greater liberalization since theimplementation oftheUruguay Round commitments hasresulted in
greater trade expansion butunfortunately itoccurred withtheunwelcome accompaniment ofincreased useof
anti-dumping measures. WeurgethatMembers usetheanti-dumping measures sparingly andtruthfully tothe
language oftheAgreement. Atthesame time, wealsohave concern ontheanti-circumvention investigations
since theestablishment oftheWTO. Thisisduetothefactthatthere hasnotbeen anagreement onuniform
rules onanti-circumvention, we,therefore, urge thatMembers refrain from taking thismeasure while the
process isstillon-going.
4. Dispute settlement
TheDispute Settlement Understanding canrightly beconsidered asanother significant achievement of
theUruguay Round andtheWTO thusfar.Theincreased number ofcases brought bycountries bigandsmall
under thismechanism andanumber ofinterpretations ofkeyprovisions indicate thehealth ofthesystem.
Although theeffectiveness andcredibility ofthedispute settlement havebeengenerally satisfied, there aresome
keyelements which areofimportance tothesuccess andviability ofthesystem:
4.1 Strict andtimely compliance withtherecommendations;WT/MIN(98)/ST/71/Rev.1
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4.2 increased availability oflegal experts assistance todeveloping countries;
4.3 increased capability oftheSecretariat tocope withincreasing number ofdispute cases; and
4.4 adherence totheprovisions withregard toconfidentiality ofpanel process anditsdocuments.
5. Integration ofdeveloping countries
Oneoftheobjectives oftheUruguay Round istointegrate thedeveloping countries intothemultilateral
trading system asitisimportant fortheir economic development andglobal trade expansion. Developing
countries should beabletoparticipate inmultilateral trading system withassurance thattheirparticipation would
leadnotonlytoobligations butalsotheir entitled benefits. Many developing countries arestilloverwhelmed
withdifficulties duetotheir lackofknowledge andresources. There isurgent need tointensify efforts in
certain areas tomake theintegration yields better andgreater benefit tothedeveloping andtheleastdeveloped
countries such as:
5.1 Existing WTO provisions onspecial anddifferential treatment;
5.2 technical assistance; and
5.3 market access forproducts from thedeveloping andtheleast developed countries.
Future activities: Enhanced credibility
FortheWTO tobeviable andcredible, itshould have theability tocorrect itsweaknesses, atleaston
theabove-mentioned aspects. Atthesame time itshould alsobeabletodischarge fully itscommitments
resulting fromtheMarrakesh mandated built-in agenda, adapt totheeverchanging global economic environment
andfacethechallenges thatlieahead astheworld moves towards andintothenextmillennium.
Tasks ahead
Inthenearandmedium term, thetasks ahead oftheWTO aretwo-fold. Ontheonehand, weneed
todealsuccessfully withthebuilt-in agenda, andontheother, wemust takeintoaccount thedemands posed
bythefastchanging international economic environment. Theresults oftheUruguay Round contain numerous
unfinished orpartially finished elements. Theachievements oftheUruguay Round negotiations could be
considered asimportant stepping stones inthisregard.
Built-in agenda
Major tasks
Several WTO Agreements andMinisterial Decisions called forfurther negotiations aswellasreviews
ofcertain rules anddisciplines. Oneofthemajor tasks ahead ofusinthisrespect willbetofine-tune the
relevant timetables, andinsome cases todefine theappropriate steps which willleadtothefulfilment ofthe
work programme asstipulated intherespective agreements anddecisions.
Renewed negotiation onagriculture
Preparatory process must begin assoon aspossible inorder toallow therenewed negotiation on
agriculture totakeplace before theendof1999 asscheduled intheAgreement with aview toconclude
expeditiously. Themandate andtheconduct ofthenegotiations must beindependent ofanycallforor
scepticism ofanewbroad-based round oftrade negotiations.
Thailand supports others whohavecalled foraframework ofnegotiation addressing allareas affecting
agriculture trade, namely export subsidies, market access anddomestic support.Furthermore, inpursuing further liberalization, support totheeconomic development needs of
developing countries, including theirtechnical assistance requirements, must becontinued while theprinciple
ofspecial anddifferential treatment fordeveloping countries must alsoremain anintegral partofthefuture
negotiations.
Potential issues
Itisalsoimportant torecognise theappropriate, reasonable andoperable improvement oftheexisting
rules might bevitaltotheWTO toenhance itsrelevance intheevolving world economy.
Globalization isanirreversible factoflifeinthemodern world, theimportant question facing usishow
besttodealwith theinevitable process ofglobalization. Therefore, from time totime, theWTO needs to
review andredress anyshortcomings orloopholes which exist initssystem.
While itistruethatthere areextensive issues available onthetable, weneed toensure thatwedonot
close oureyesonother evolving development intheglobal economy. Nevertheless, intaking onboard any
issue, itwould require endorsement from Members onthebasis ofconsensus.
Indeed, issues such asinvestment, competition andtransparency ingovernment procurement were
brought toourattention atSingapore, andcurrently, their study processes were being carried out. Inthis
relation, itmust alsobeemphasized thatfuture consideration onhowtoproceed with these issues must be
subject totheoutcome ofthestudy processes.
Preparation without pre-judgements
Thepreparation process forthenextMinisterial Conference mustbewithout anypre-judgement. While
nothing istobeprecluded, there should beasense ofpriority where issues relating toimplementation, mandated
negotiations andother future work already stipulated intheWTO provisions must beproceeded accordingly.
Recognizing thatliberalization isasignificant process touphold themultilateral trading system.
Thailand ismonitoring thediscussion onthissubject withprofound interest andwillstand ready tocooperate
withallMembers inexploring allelements which could beinvolved.
Atthesame time, anyproposal tobeputforward must clearly address interest ofdeveloping countries.
Furthermore, itisalsoimportant thatthepreparatory process forourfuture discussion must notprejudge our
decisions, especially whether andhownewround ofnegotiations should belaunched.
Organization 'sobjectives vs.national interest
Thelong term challenge oftheWTO isitsability toreconcile national interest with thatofthe
organization.
Wehave seen, timeandagain, inthisorganization, countries venture tosettheagenda oftheWTO
based onissues which were inlinewiththeir interest andpriority. InSingapore, wesawnewissues such as
investment, competition policy, transparency ingovernment procurement andtrade facilitation being shoved into
theWTO 'sbasket. WefeelthatMembers should, atthesame time, invest ourcollective efforts inthe
strengthening ofthesystem. This should beatruly meaningful keyagenda forourfuture inpursuing the
objectives oftheorganization. Thefollowing issues must beaddressed:
1. Genuine integration ofdeveloping aswellasleast developed countries intothemultilateral
trading system;
2. atruly levelled playing field where allMembers cancompete fairly despite their sizes and
economic strength;
3. improvement ofdecision making process: compromises inthepasthadbeen achieved atthe
expense ofobjectivity ofthesystem andresulting inanambiguity which generated time-
consuming debates, diverse interpretations andcreated loopholes;
4. afineanddelicate balance topreserve individual national interest andthesystemic interest is
essential though admittedly difficult toachieve.WT/MIN(98)/ST/71/Rev.1
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Primacy ofmultilateralism
Therelevance, credibility andefficiency ofthemultilateral trading system willverymuch depend on
howtheabove issues areaddressed andproblems resolved. Thesecond challenge fortheWTO inthelongrun
istomaintain andstrengthen itsroleasthemain driving force intrade liberalization, toensure sustainable
growth anddevelopment. TheWTO must takeonchallenges without wavering andassume theleading roleso
thatregionalism will,innoway, replace themultilateral trading system asaprimary force shaping global trade,
butrather supplement andreinforce theliberalization process entrusted bytheWTO Members. Itisimportant
thatregional groupings must complement andcontribute tothestrengthening ofthemultilateral system.
Coherent international economic policy
Thethird systemic longtermchallenge ishowtogenerate greater coherence ininternational economic
trade andfinancial policy. Intoday 'scomplex andglobalized economic structure, coherent policy coordination
among theIMF, World Bank andtheWTO isabsolutely crucial. These organizations must reinforce their
efforts toensure thattheir respective policies i.e.trade, monetary andsocial anddevelopment aremutually
supportive. Thiswould helplessen theproblem ofmarginalization andprevent potential disruption which might
arise from misconduct inoneofthepolicy areas aswellasminimize adverse impact onothers, ashappened
inthecaseofcurrent financial crisis inAsia.
Firm commitment
Despite allthehardship currently facing ournation, Thailand remains unwavering withoutcommitment
towards liberalization. Wefirmly believe thatthrough thecontinuation ofouroutward looking andopen trade
policy, wewillrevive oureconomy aswellassecure sustainable prosperity andeconomic growth intheyears
ahead.
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