WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/58
18May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2046)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
ICELAND
Statement Circulated byMr.Halldór Ásgrímsson,
Minister forForeign Affairs andExternal Trade
Tohave asense offuture direction, onemust alsohaveasense ofone'spast. Itisthus
particularly appropriate thatthisMinisterial Conference should coincide withthecelebration ofthe
50thAnniversary ofthemultilateral trading system. Asweendeavour tochartacourse fortheWorld
Trade Organization intothenewMillennium, wecanreadily draw bothwisdom andinspiration from
thevision ofourfounding fathers halfacentury ago.
Their foresight hasbeencentral tothepeace andprosperity ofthepost-war era.during which
wehavewitnessed unprecedented tradeliberalization andever-increasing interdependence onaglobal
scale. Hereonthethreshold ofanewcentury, wehavebotharesponsibility tomaintain pastmomentum
andtofacethefuture challenges ofarapidly changing world. These challenges aresuchthatthe
fundamental importance ofthemultilateral trading system anditspotential tocontribute toworld welfare
cannever havebeengreater.
Inestablishing theWorld Trade Organization on1January 1995, werealized thedream of
creating anindependent institutional framework forthemultilateral trading system. Under theweight
ofgreatexpectations, theWTO deserves recognition foritsexceptional performance overthese infant
years. Ithasproven uptothetaskofoverseeing implementation oftheMarrakesh Agreements, handling
agreat number ofdifficult trade disputes andsuccessfully conducting complex trade negotiations.
Weparticularly welcome theconclusion lastyearofnegotiations onbasictelecommunications, financial
services andtheInformation Technology Agreement, achievements thatrepresent asolidfoundation
forthetechnology-driven trading system ofthe21stcentury. Wemustnowprepare tobuild onthese
successes.
Thefullandfaithful implementation ofouragreements isamatter offundamental interest to
allWTO Members, developed anddeveloping alike. Thismustremain atoppriority ifourcredibility
isnottosuffer. Iceland 'soverall assessment ofimplementation todateispositive andwecommend
theefficiency ofWTO bodies inmonitoring compliance. Theperformance oftheDispute Settlement
Understanding isespecially tooursatisfaction. Wearenotoblivious tothefactthatgenuine
implementation problems exist, particularly withrespect todeveloping countries, butwehavethemeans
atourdisposal totackle theseeffectively andweshould direct allefforts tothatend.Wecaution against
anyrenegotiation ofWTO commitments, which wethink would betotheserious detriment ofboth
themultilateral system andthose Members whoaretempted tolooktosuchaction forshort-term
advantage.
FortheWTOtoliveuptoitsname,wemustaspiretoglobalmembershipandaccelerateongoing
accession negotiations, keeping inmind thattheterms andconditions ofeachaccession should serve
tostrengthen themultilateral trading system asawhole. Itsprimacy mustnotbecalled intoquestion.WT/MIN(98)/ST/58
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Therelationship between themultilateral system andregional trade agreements willcontinue tobe
thesubject ofthoughtful debate inlightoftheglobal proliferation ofthelatter, butwefirmly believe
thetwowillevolve aspartners, notopponents.
TheWTO 'strack record shows thatitscontribution toworld welfare anditsrelevance tothe
global economy cannot beseriously disputed. Wemustmake every effort toensure itstays thatway
byremaining responsive tonewrealities andreceptive tonewideas. Wemustcontinue torenounce
theuseofprotectionist measures andadvance theprocess oftrade liberalization through broad-based
multilateral negotiations, thuspromoting global economic growth anddevelopment. Atthesametime,
wemust strike thenecessary balance between theneedforconfidentiality andthedesire forgreater
transparency soastopromote thepublic awareness andconfidence theWTO sodeeply merits.
Iceland remains firmly committed toongoing WTO work andthebuilt-in agenda, including
negotiations onservices andagriculture thatarealready mandated tostartbytheyear2000. Bout
ourvision ofthefuture goesbeyond this.Webelieve weshould adopt amore comprehensive approach
andcreate anegotiating environment conducive toachieving maximum results, taking intoaccount
thedifferent interests ofWTO Members. Wesupport theideaoflaunching negotiations onindustrial
tariffs alongside those already foreseen. Buttodraw thelinethatwould betodisregard thedemands
anddynamics oftoday'sglobalizing world economy, toignore thefactthatarange ofnewissues are
nowascentral totrade andglobal welfare asourtraditional concerns, toside-step thefundamental
responsibility oftheWTO toincorporate these newrealities intothemultilateral trading system.
Some aspects ofthese issues arealready being addressed intheWTO andwemustintensify
efforts todetermine howtheyshould betreated within themultilateral framework. Theinterlinkages
between trade, competition andinvestment policies aresuchthatthese must increasingly beseenas
aunified whole. Weshould notexclude thepossibility thatourwork willhaveadvanced sufficiently
bytheturnofthecentury forustoembark onnegotiations onmultilateral rulesanddisciplines togovern
thisinterplay.Traditionaltradebarriershavefallenawaytoexposeanarrayofcomplextradeprocedures
thatremain aburden onbusiness. Weareconvinced thatthere isscope forWTO rules inthearea
oftrade facilitation.
Webelieve amore ambitious agenda could alsobepursued intheareaoftrade andthe
environment. Asanation heavily dependent ontheutilization ofnatural resources, Iceland isfirmly
committedtotheobjectiveofsustainabledevelopment.Tradeliberalizationandenvironmentalprotection
policies mustdevelop inharmony through multilateral cooperation ifthisistoberealized. There is
noinherent contradiction between thetwo; theyshould infactbeseenasmutually reinforcing. But
thereisaclearneedforusasgovernments topursue coherent andconsistent national andinternational
policies, favouring multilateral solutions overunilateral action. Socentral isthisquestion toworld
welfare thattheWTO cannot butstartlooking beyond theanalytical totheoperative.
Electronic commerce maystillbeinitsinfancy, butgiven itsastounding growth ratethe
implications forworld trade arereadily apparent. Weattach tremendous importance tothecreation
ofastable, freeandequitable environment within which global electronic commerce cancontinue to
prosper withminimum government intervention. Auseful firststepinthatdirection would befor
WTO Members toagree toastandstill whereby thecurrent practice ofnotlevying customs duties on
electronic transmissions would bemaintained. Atthesametime, weshould engage inacomprehensive
debate covering alltrade-related aspects ofelectronic commerce withtheaimofclarifying towhat
extent current WTO rules apply toelectronic commerce anddefining, asappropriate, thescope for
neworimproved disciplines.WT/MIN(98)/ST/58
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These areambitious objectives, butnotoutofourreach. Weneedonlytokeepanopenmind
andapproach thetaskathandinbalanced, non-prejudicial fashion. Adecision tolaunch comprehensive
negotiations attheturnofthecentury willonlybetaken byconsensus. Weareprepared tocommit
ourselves toapreparatory process thatwould enable WTO Ministers totakeanyappropriate decisions
onthenature andscope ofthisnegotiating environment attheThird Session oftheMinisterial
Conference. Without thiscourse ofaction, wemaydenyourselves theopportunity torespond tothe
challenges oftheglobalizing world economy. Wecould place themomentum oftrade liberalization
atriskandendanger theeconomic growth anddevelopment weallpursue. Andwewould certainly
fallshort ofthepraise ourfounding fathers sorichly deserve when history becomes ourjudge.
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