WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/141 
17 December 2005 
 (05-6160) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
MALAYSIA 
 
Statement Circulated by the Honourable Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz
 
Minister of International Trade and Industry  
  
This Sixth Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong comes in wake of the global and regional 
developments which will continue to impact upon economies of the world, and the business 
community of the world, and together the other stakeholders are awaiting with anticipation, the 
outcomes of the deliberations. 
Much has been said about how market opening  can spur efficiency amongst producers of 
products and suppliers of services, and that a mo re liberalized global market can boost economic 
growth and incomes.  The new Round of multila teral trade negotiations has been mandated to 
incorporate the all-important development agenda, and to provide flexibilities in commitments and 
obligations for developing countries. 
The least developed countries, particularly t hose with high dependence on a narrow range of 
export commodities, are expecting to be given duty-free and quota-free market access for their 
exports, while undertaking the necessary reforms on the supply side, to enhance efficiency and 
productivity. 
Special focus is also being given to the ultimate elimination of trade-distorting domestic 
support and subsidies, which have been proven to be  effective barriers to market-access for imports, 
especially from developing countries. 
Since agreement to the Doha Development Ag enda, much work has been done to lay the 
groundwork for achieving consensus in Hong Kong, on the modalities for negotiations of the Round. 
However, stocktaking of such work indicates that  while there is general agreement on the basic 
principles such as special and differential treatment  for developing countries, and less than full 
reciprocity in subscribing to particular obligations , there are still divergences in positions pertaining to 
the details. 
These details are leading to contentious de bates and non-convergence, unless Members are 
prepared to compromise and move from dogmatic positions. 
Often we talk of the so-called group of " demandeurs " of particular offers from trading 
partners, giving rise to the perception that ther e are those which have to oblige and to give. 
It must be emphasized that the process of market opening by any country, will involve both 
costs and benefits .  An analysis of such costs and benefits  by the country, will show what sacrifices, 
such as in revenue loss, as compared to benefits ar e to be derived, from market liberalization.  It 
would be logical to expect that every country will wa nt to ensure that they gain substantially more WT/MIN(05)/ST/141 
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 than what they lose, including en suring that there is minimal injury  to domestic industry and market 
players. 
Therefore, there must be that appreciation of maximum level of tolerance to make sacrifices 
and to extract only what any country can offer, b ased upon its level of deve lopment and capacity to 
open any sector of its market. 
Certainly, every WTO Member is a demandeur , that is to say, demanding that the country 
wants to access into the markets of other Members.  However, there is that expectation, by the others, 
for that country's domestic market to also be liberalized, whether in goods or services. 
In reality, many countries have sought, and ar e seeking, market access for its exports, through 
bilateral, regional or plurilateral trade arrangement s.  There will be no let-up in such a trend, and 
market access has beco me a faster process under such arrangements. 
Even within the current negotiations, there ar e already proposals to institute plurilateral 
arrangements for particular sectors, based on volunta rism.  This can be a realistic approach to 
eventually opening up markets on a multilateral basis. 
The WTO will certainly continue to be releva nt, and countries not yet in the fraternity, will 
continue to seek accession, and binding themselv es to commitments of reforms and the necessary 
bilateral negotiations.  However, the WTO pro cesses must not be sidetracked by politics, or 
constrained by narrow parochialism. 
There are common interests involved, as well as a shared responsibility, to make the 
multilateral trading regime function equitably, predictably, and efficiently. 
The WTO now, has lost its early image of be ing a reflection of the North-South economic 
divide, and a forum where developed and de veloping countries take  opposite positions. 
Today, the borderless world has eroded such di vides, and every WTO Member has the right 
to put its own issues of interest and concer n on the table.  Hence, the agenda on cotton
. 
However, for developing and least developed countries to assume proactive roles in WTO 
negotiations, there must  be that requisite capacity of negotiators to present their case. 
In this context, capacity-building measures are important and should be an ongoing work 
programme within the WTO. 
As we witness the accession of  new Members into the WTO, we should he reminded of the 
collective responsibility to ensure that the dom estic constituencies of every Member can truly 
appreciate, and savour, the benefits and spin-offs from a rules-based global trading system, and the ongoing market liberalization. 
Agreements in WTO resulting from negotiations  in any round will en tail obligations and 
responsibilities which can be onerous.  There ma ybe dislocations in domestic economics, and 
displacements of workers, as new competition erodes market shares. 
It is to be expected that these, and other domest ic concerns, will be the main determinants of 
how far any Member can go to open up the domestic ma rket.  These concerns cannot be marginalized 
or simply overrun by enthusiastic demands for liberalization. 
Hence, the need for the so-called "balanced" outcome which should not merely refer to the 
weightage to be given to developing and least de veloped countries, but more importantly, to the  WT/MIN(05)/ST/141 
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 balance between genuine  domestic constituency concerns and in terests, and the ambition to have a 
freer global  market place. 
Malaysia, as a country with increasing export interest, subscribes to such a "balanced 
outcome". 
Pragmatism  should be the hallmark of our negotia tions, with the wisdom to dovetail 
individual country interests  into the overall framework of multilateral trade liberalisation. 
The Hong Kong Ministerial cannot  be expected to result in consensus in all  areas of 
negotiations and modalities. 
But, what can, and eventually are achieved, should not  be made hostages to outcomes  in other 
areas such as agriculture, which has for decades, been a contentious issue. 
Should there be the necessary spillover of any negotiation beyond Hong Kong, then the 
timeframe for eventual conclusion must be short, so  as to be credible and to avoid unnecessary delays  
in the eventual negotiations of the Doha Development Round. 
Again, pragmatism must prevail if we are to see results coming out of this Sixth Ministerial 
Conference in Hong Kong, and if we are to meet th e expectations of the stakeholders of the global 
economy. 
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