WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/76
11December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5246)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
BOTSWANA
Statement bytheHonourable K.G. Kgoroba
Minister ofCommerce andIndustry
Itisagreat honour forBotswana tobeaparticipant atthisfirstMinisterial Conference ofthe
World Trade Organization andtoenjoy thegenerous hospitality ofSingapore towhich wehavebecome
accustomed inthepastfewdays. Singapore isagreat example toalldeveloping countries ofwhat
ispossible forasmall country toachieve ineconomic development. Itistherefore afitting tribute
thatthefirstConference oftheWTO isbeing heldhere.
IhopethatattheendoftheConference, wewillhavereached consensus onmany issues on
theagenda forthisConference. Theissues thatarebeing discussed herearemany andbynomeans
easy. Tothisend,itwillrequire ourcombined efforts toensure thattherules established toguide
trade liberalization donotdisadvantage anycountry, orgroup ofcountries.
TheWTO was,fromthetimeitwasestablished, given averyheavy agenda. Itisclearfrom
thedocuments prepared forthisConference thattheWTO hasmade progress onsome issues. We
must allcommend theDirector-General andhisstafffortheirefforts overthetwoyears.
There isagreat dealofwork stilltobedone ontheconsolidation anddevelopment ofthe
initiatives approved atMarrakesh. Botswana, adeveloping, netfood-importing country andfollowing
apolicy ofeconomic diversification, willtakekeeninterest inthese critical international negotiations.
The"built-in agenda" includes many complex issues which haveserious implications fortrade
anddevelopment inthedeveloping countries. Permit metoshare ourviews onsome ofthese issues.
Firstly, despite thesuccessful conclusion oftheUruguay Round negotiations, tariffs remain
animportant issue forfurther trade liberalization. There is,inBotswana 'sview, scope forfurther
tariff reductions. Webelieve there isanurgent needtoaccelerate allUruguay Round tariff cuts
commitments, particularly those involving products ofimportance todeveloping countries.
Secondly, slowprogress inproviding technical assistance isanissue ofserious concern to
Botswana. Many ofusarestruggling tomeet compliance andnotification requirements ofthe
WTO Agreements. There isclear needtobuild anddevelop institutional structures indeveloping
countries toenable them tocopewiththerequirements oftheWTO. Thiswork hasnotbegun and
itiscritical thattechnical assistance tothese countries beintensified andspeeded up.Wearethinking,
forexample ofsuchtechnical areas asdeveloping legislation andsafeguard forintellectual property
rights. Thus far,wehaveexperienced aplethora ofoffers ofassistance from various agencies that
tousdonotappear wellcoordinated tobeofpractical assistance.
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ItismyunderstandingthatthecurrentGeneralAgreementonTradeinServicesworkprogramme
envisages newnegotiations onsafeguards, subsidies andcountervailing duties astheyrelate totrade
inservices. Itwillbeimportant thatWTO Members commit themselves tothesenegotiations andensure
theactive participation byallintherapidly expanding services sector.
TheAgreement onAgriculture establishes aprogramme forthegradual reform oftrade in
agriculture withaviewtoestablishing afairandequitable market-oriented trading system. Botswana
supports thegeneral direction forreforms leading toreduction oftariffs andassociated quotas and
subsidies. However, itisimportant toacknowledge thesensitivity ofthissector totheeconomies of
thedeveloping countries. ForBotswana itwould beimportant toretain domestic support measures
toprotect small farmers onaselective basis. Wealsosupport theviewthatexisting trading arrangements
inagriculture products, suchasthose under theLomé Convention, orthrough theGSPconcessions,
should beallowed longer transition periods. Thiswould giveusmore timetoadjust tothechallenges
ofincreased competition.
Botswana supports regionalism asanimportant process incarrying forward tradeliberalization.
ForusintheSouthern African region, regional trade arrangements provide thefirstpoint ofentry
intothewider multilateral trading system. Itisinthisregard thatBotswana hasactively participated
inSADC andthedevelopment oftherecently concluded SADC Trade Protocol. Webelieve thatthe
SADC region provides anewgrowth point ontheAfrican continent andshould befullysupported
andnurtured.
Botswana makes these observations tounderline thefactthattheWTO andthecontracting
parties haveaveryheavy workload relating totheimplementation ofnewprocedures, measures agreed
atMarrakesh forassistance toleastdeveloped anddeveloping countries aswellasthecompletion of
thebuilt-in agenda.
Thenewissues ontheagenda forthisConference therefore areofconcern toBotswana. Many
ofthese issues takethenegotiations intoareas inwhich many ofthecontracting parties havelittle
experience. They arealsotechnically difficult andpolitically sensitive. Iamreferring toproposals
inrespect oftrade andlabour standards, trade andinvestment, competition policy andgovernment
procurement. These issues haveserious implications fordeveloping economies. Itwould therefore
beprudent fortheWTO andcontracting parties toleave these rather difficult andsensitive issues to
bestudied anddiscussed bytheappropriate international organizations.
Finally, ontheissueoftrade andenvironment, wenotethatacommittee hasbeenestablished
toexamine thelinkages between trade andenvironment policies toensure thatrulesinbothareas are
complementary andconsistent. Itwould appear thatthediscussions sofarhavefocused ontheeffects
ofindustrialization ontheenvironment. We,ontheother hand, believe thattheissue oftrade and
environment should notbeone-sided. Forourpartweareparticularly concerned withthelinkage
between trade andconservation andmanagement ofournatural resources.