WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/80
20May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2089)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
MAURITIUS
Statement Circulated bytheHonourable Rajkeswur Purryag,
Deputy Prime Minister andMinister ofForeign Affairs
andInternational Trade
1. Iwishtojointheother delegations inthanking theSwiss authorities andtheWTO Secretariat
forhosting theSecond WTO Ministerial Conference and,inparticular, theevents commemorating the
50thAnniversary oftheGATT. Allow mealso, tocongratulate youonyourassumption ofOffice
andtoassure youofmydelegation 'ssupport inyour, enviable yetdelicate task.
2. Thisisthesecond timethatwearegathered afterourhistoric meeting inMarrakesh. In
Singapore itwould havebeenpremature tomake areasonable assessment oftheprogress achieved
since theconclusion oftheUruguay Round. Wearenowbetter placed todoso.Suchprogress needs
tobegauged inthelightofthecoreprinciples guiding theWTO process. Letusaskourselves
whether ourtarget of"raising standards ofliving, ensuring fullemployment andalarge andsteadily
growing volume ofrealincome" hasbeenattained. Whilst weacknowledge theroleofthemultilateral
trading system overthepast50years, weshould askourselves whether thegains achieved havebeen
spread inafairandequitable manner.
3. Wehave committed ourselves fully toaddress theproblem ofmarginalization ofthe
least-developed countries andtheriskwhich itrepresents forcertain developing countries. Wehave
alsoreaffirmed theimportance ofspecial anddifferential treatment fordeveloping countries toenable
them tointegrate themultilateral system. Eighteen months laterwenotethatthese countries arestill
grappling withalotofdifficulties. Although some progress hasbeenachieved inthelaunching ofthe
PlanofAction forLeast-Developed Countries, sofaronlyveryfewtrading partners havetranslated
intentions intodecisions. Furthermore, wehavetoexpress ourconcern ontheabsence ofconcrete
measures meant toalleviate thenegative impact oftheagricultural reform programme onnet-food
importing developing countries. There isalsoanurgent needtoaddress theproblems faced bysmall,
fragile andvulnerable economies.
4. Letmemake itclearthatmycountry iscommitted toitsobligations vis-à-vis theWTO. We
havealready enacted theCopyrights Legislation. OurTrade andPatents Actisbeing revamped. A
newPlants Legislation which willinter aliaencompass provisions relating totheSanitary and
Phytosanitary (SPS) andtheTrade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Agreements isbeing finalized. Significant commitments inthefields ofBasic Telecommunications
andFinancial Services havebeenmade anditisourintention toadhere totheInformation Technology
Agreement. Astudy onthecompatibility ofMauritian legislation andofitstrade policy regime with
theWTO provisions hasalsobeencommissioned.
5. However, thelevelofourresources hasnotallowed ustoputinplace, inatimely manner,
theinstitutional andlegal framework required fortheimplementation ofalltheWTO AgreementsWT/MIN(98)/ST/80
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including notification obligations. Inthiscontext, wesupport theproposal made bysome countries
thattheGeneral Council should request theWorking Group onNotification Obligations and
Procedures toexamine howspecial anddifferential treatment could beextended tocertain developing
countries.
6. Itiscertainly notaneasytaskforasmall climate dependent economy withlimited resources
toimplement itsWTO obligations ortotakeonnewcommitments. Whilst Mauritius hasnotshied
away fromitsresponsibilities inthisregard, itisyettoseethetangible benefits ofitsfullparticipation
inthemultilateral trading system. Inconsequence weremain firmly convinced thatuntilsuchbenefits
areforthcoming wehave noother alternative thantorelyonourpreferential access intomajor
markets.
7. In1996, wealsoagreed thaturgent measures infavour ofleast-developed countries should
beputinplace. Moreover, some ofusproposed thatdeveloping countries should begiven timeto
adjust tothechanges brought about bytheUruguay Round. Small andvulnerable economies
characterized byover-dependence onalimited number ofproduction activities needmore timeto
adjust tomerciless international competition. Weshould consequently focus ourattention onthetrade
anddevelopment problems ofsucheconomies.
8. Theobjectives offullemployment, improved standards ofliving, alarge andsteadily growing
volume ofrealincome andpreservation ofresources should guide theWTO initsaction. Itshould
beseentopromote thegeneral good andnottotakeorprompt decisions thatleadtomarginalization
ordisruption ofsocio-economic fabrics. Inthiscontext, weview withconcern theoverlegalistic
approach thatisbeing adopted intheongoing work inWTO andinsettling trade disputes. Itwould
benecessary toensure thatwhen trade interests ofsmall andvulnerable economies areatstake,
considerations ofequity andsocial justice areadequately taken intoaccount anddecisions arenot
based solely onarestrictive interpretation oftherules. Therecent report ontheEuropean Union
Banana Regime isacaseinpoint.
9. Thestringent subsidy disciplines oftheWTO areimposing considerable restrictions onthe
ability ofdeveloping countries topursue coherent development-oriented trade andindustrial policies.
Developing countries arebeing urged toabandon theuseofsubsidies thathavecontributed tothe
success oftheirexport development strategies. Thestrict interpretation ofsome trade-related rules
hastheeffect ofholding backthemomentum ofthese countries intheirefforts towards modernization
anddiversification. Developing countries arebeing encouraged tointegrate theglobal economy but
theyarebeing deprived ofthemeans tomove inthissame direction. Inthatcontext, Mauritius fully
supports thestand ofSADC, OAU andtheACP thatWTO rules onsubsidies andcountervailing
measures should bereviewed infavour ofcertain developing countries, inorder toallow them to
utilize allinstruments available tothem fortrade, industrial andagricultural development and
promotion.
10. Itisamatter ofregret thatthepresent Draft Ministerial Textdoesnotmake anyspecific
reference toregionalism. Regional Trade Agreements compensate, toalarge extent, certain
constraints suchasabsence ofeconomies ofscale, arising outoftheirsituation assmall economies.
Wealsoviewthese Agreements aslaunching padstogradual integration intheglobal system. Inthis
regard, Mauritius, being partofvarious regional andsubregional blocs, hasmade quite some strides
initsendeavour toenhance cross-border trade andinvestment.
11. Small economies areconstrained bynumerous factors including geographical remoteness from
major markets andfrom sources ofrawmaterials. Besides, thesmall sizeoftheirdomestic market
isnotconducive totheflowoftherequired foreign investment. Insuchcircumstances, thesecountries
need anenvironment which notonly enables them toovercome their inherent weaknesses butWT/MIN(98)/ST/80
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guarantees thattheycanoffersecurity andpredictability toinvestors, localandforeign. Theenabling
conditions canonlybesecured through thecontinuation ofmutually agreed, non-reciprocal preferential
market access, particularly those contained intheLomé Convention. Anydisruption inthesteady
flow ofearnings resulting from ourexport trade would seriously jeopardize oursocio-economic
development.
12. Thecredibility oftheWTO restsonitscapacity totreatallitsMembers fairly andequitably.
Itisnotourintention toquestion liberalization within arule-based system. Butwehavetoformulate
future rules thatarerealistic andadjust existing ones toaddress theconcerns ofallMembers,
particularly thevulnerable ones. Therein liethecredibility andthesustainability ofthemultilateral
trade system. Weareatthedoorstep ofanewmillennium andourconstituents expect ustolaythe
foundations ofajustandfairsociety. Here attheWTO weshould liveuptothese expectations.
Otherwise future generations willholdustotask.
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