WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/35
10December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5204)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE Original: English
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
SWEDEN
Statement byH.E. Mr.Björn vonSydow
Minister forTrade
There arefivepoints Iwould liketoraise.
Myfirstpoint istostress thatthismeeting isabout enhancing theliving standards andgrowth,
about development andabout thecreation ofjobs. Ourwaytocontribute tothisiscontinued trade
liberalization andastrengthening oftheopenruled-based multilateral trading system.
ItisveryappropriatethatthisfirstimportantWTOMinisterialMeetingtakesplaceinSingapore,
inthisregion. Iwould liketoexpress mysincere gratitude totheGovernment ofSingapore forthe
excellent arrangements, andfortheconstructive rolethatSingapore plays ininternational tradepolicy.
Ourcommon responsibility isgreat. Wemustimplement andpursue theMarrakesh decisions,
andwemustusetheWTO totackle newissues. Wemuststrengthen multilateralism through theWTO
because thathelps usreach ourdomestic political objectives.
Developments inscience andinformation technology, aswellasthefactthatanincreasing
number ofcountries turntodemocratic forms ofgovernment, leadmetomysecond point. Andthat
istoemphasize thattheWTO mustbeabletodealwithabroad spectrum ofissues related tochanging
conditions inaglobalizing economy.
Wemust pursue work ontrade andenvironment. Thiscontinues tobeapriority issue for
mycountry. Wemustgiveenhanced credibility totherule-based world trading system byascertaining
thatfreetradeandenvironmental policies aremutually reinforcing andnecessary toachieve sustainable
development. Legal certainty must beguaranteed formultilateral environmental agreements.
Theresults onenvironment uptillnowareclearly disappointing, notleastinrelation to
multilateral environmental agreements. Butletusnowlookahead andcommit ourselves toconcrete
results inthefuture. Wemustdemonstrate thattheWTO iscapable ofresponding tooneofthemost
important global challenges.
Twoimportant newtrade issues areinvestment andcompetition. Weconsider itessential to
pursue work inWTO onthese issues.
Thecaseforputting investment policies ontheWTO agenda isverystrong. Webelieve that
itwould beintheinterest ofallcountries, notleastthesmaller developing countries, todevelop rules
thatwould provide fortransparency, predictability andnon-discrimination. Ibelieve thatsuchrules
would stimulate investment flows andconsequently thattheywould stimulate development. Icontinue
tomaintain thatthetaskofexamining thisquestion should beentrusted toaspecial WTO working
group.WT/MIN(96)/ST/35
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Alsointhefieldofcompetition Ithink thatpreparatory work todevelop rules iscalled for.
Inthefieldoflabour standards there arealready rulesandstandards thatweasgovernments
havesubscribed towithin theILO. Webelieve thattheWTO andworld trade ministers should give
theirsupport tocontinued work intheILO,andIseenothing objectionable inthis. ButIalsobelieve
thatthereshould bealinktotheWTO inthesense thatweastradeministers should haveanopportunity
toreview developments inthisfieldatourbiannual meetings. Iamquite surethatmany ofuswill
address thisissue alsowhen wemeet in1998. AndIwould verymuch hopethatwecould dothis
inaspirit ofcooperation andtrust. Ithink everyone whohasspoken onthisissuehasunderlined that
wereject taking trade-restrictive measures asameans toenforce labour standards andthatthe
comparative advantage oflow-wage countries must notbequestioned.
AsfarasSweden isconcerned, wewould havepreferred adecision toestablish abodywithin
theWTO toexamine thisissue, butgiven thecurrent situation wecould alsosupport thetextascontained
intheDirector-General 'sletter dated 29November. AndImustsaythatIalsoverymuch regret that
theDirector-General ofILOhasnotbeeninvited toaddress thisConference.
MythirdpointisthattheWTO mustnotoverlook thetraditional GATT issueofmarket access.
Sweden strongly supports newinitiatives inthisarea. Igladly support those speakers before mewho
haveadvocated thatweshould setupatarget dateforthecomplete elimination oftariffs onindustrial
goods. Wemustnotforget thattraditional market access issues aretremendously important andthat
weshould pursue work inthisfieldwithallpossible vigour.
Wearepleased andencouraged thatwehavecome alongwayintheimportant areaoftariff
elimination forITproducts. These aretheindustries ofthefuture, andtheymustbegiven maximum
growth potential, foreverybody 'sbenefit. Welookforward tothefinalization ofazerotariffagreement
onITproducts. Weshould reach anagreement onthishereinSingapore.
Services playanincreasing roleinworld trade. Wemustpursue liberalization intheservices
sector and,inparticular, wemust conclude theoutstanding services negotiations. Thedeadline for
conclusion ofthenegotiations ontelecommunications services isacommitment thatwesimply cannot
failtohonour. Thisissoimportant forthedevelopment oftheavailability andefficiency oftelecom
services notleastindeveloping countries. Istrongly urgeallcountries tomake efforts tosubmit
improved offers, andfollow theleadoftheEuropean Union andtheUnited States.
Myfourth point concerns regional integration. Regional openness, andregional cooperation,
cancontribute tolowering trade barriers andtosupporting growth. Weremain firminoursupport
forregional integration which leads tomultilateral liberalization. Butwemustretain theprimacy of
themultilateral system andweshould strive towards astringent application oftheGATT rulesgoverning
freetrade areas andcustoms unions.
Myfifthpoint isthattheintegration ofthedeveloping countries, andinparticular theleast
developed among them, intotheWTO system isoneofthemostimportant issues hereinSingapore.
Technical assistance isofgreatimportance. Buttradeliberalization, including tariffelimination
inareaswheretheleastdevelopedcountriesareparticularlycompetitive,isacriticalanddecisiveelement
inanystrategy fortheleastdeveloped. Thedeveloped countries, andthemore advanced developing
countries, mustaccept theirresponsibility hereandtakeconcrete measures toimprove market access
forleastdeveloped countries.
Onaccession,IjustwanttoreiteratetheimportanceweattachtoWTObecomingtrulyuniversal.
Wemust trytospeed upaccession, onappropriate conditions.WT/MIN(96)/ST/35
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ThisfirstMinisterial Meeting oftheWorld Trade Organization setsaprecedent anditpoints
towards thefuture. Ourresponsibility isgreat. Wemust ensure thatthismeeting isasuccess.
Letmeconclude bysaying thatthechallenges confronting theWTO inaglobalizing world
economy willhavetobeaddressed beyond Singapore.
There isaneedtocontinue toreview theroleandeffective function oftheWTO inorder to
ensure thatthisorganization plays itsproper roleincoherent global economic policy-making. This
isanissue webelieve theDirector-General should beasked tolookintoindepth inthepreparations
forthenextWTO Ministerial Meeting.