WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(98)/ST/106
20 May 1998
(98-2121)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18 and 20 May 1998Original:  English
PORTUGAL
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mr. Francisco Seixas Da Costa,
Secretary of State for European Affairs
The present Ministerial Conference is taking place at a crucial point when the world trade
system celebrates its 50th Anniversary.  The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and itssuccessor, the World Trade Organization (WTO), have hosted eight rounds of multilateral trade
negotiations that have both liberalized trade barriers and expanded the scope and coverage of
international trading rights and obligations.
On this 50th Anniversary we are celebrating th e past achievements, important as they are, but
also the future promise of a system which has proved to be indispensable to global stability, prosperityand economic growth.
The multilateral trade system has continually re invented itself by adapting to new conditions
and challenges.  This process needs to continue in the future bearing in mind the new interdependent
world in which we live.  There is a growing need today to address policies, issues and objectives that
are in different ways related to trade.
The reality of these global concerns cannot be ignored, whether they be environmental,
development or social.  These issues are critical, in our view, in future negotiations.
The scope of the WTO action must be broadened in order to transform it in an institution
which focus on trade but is also sensitive to broader human concerns.
Another task that we should continue to actively pursue is the integration of the developing
countries in the multilateral system and specially the least-developed ones.  In fact, more and more
countries in the developing world are being drawn into this system as its relevance and influenceexpands.
While the GATT in the fifties involved only some 20 to 30 countries, the Uruguay Round had
123 participants.  Today, the WTO has 132 Members.  Eighty per cent of which are developing or
transition economies.
The European Communities have developed importa nt efforts to this objective and specially
on the needs of least-developed countries regarding market access, technical assistance and
cooperation activities.  We encourage all WTO Members to contribute to this important objective.
The multilateral trading system is not a perfect one.  But it is a system which treats all
Members, regardless of size, wealth or power, paying special attention to the less and least-developed
Members, which benefit from a special and differential treatment.  We need to assure that it willcontinue this way and this is a responsibility that all its Members must share.WT/MIN(98)/ST/106
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Turning now to the important question of implementation.  Negotiations are not an end in
themselves.  They should deliver results that must be adequately implemented.  It is the credibility of
the WTO that is at stake, if it does not use the necessary mechanisms to ensure a strict implementation
of the commitments that have been taken by all its Members.
The success of future negotiations depends both on the confidence that agreed commitments
are effectively implemented, and on the previsibility and stability of the Agreements.
In this regard, it must be said that the absence of an effective evaluation of the
implementation of the market access commitments taken under the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (ATC), casts doubts on the real balance of rights and obligations under the ATC.  The
European Communities have fully implemented what was agreed and even went further of what was
demanded for the second stage of integration.  We expect that all Members will do the same.
Turning now to the future, what should we expect from the negotiations that are to take place
at the end of this century?
In the first place, we need to strengthen the WTO and explain its role and virtualities to
common citizens.  People need to understand the meaning of multilateral liberalization, in order to
perceive it not as a threat but as something that can have a positive impact on their lives.
For this purpose the WTO has to be an open organization with the necessary mechanisms to
inform citizens of its activities and the meaning of its negotiation processes.
The WTO also needs to continue its path towards greater trade liberalization.  We must
concentrate on the real obstacles that affect the activities of our business people.  This means giving
priority to the elimination of non-tariff barriers that still hinder severely business activities.  The
elimination of tariff peaks should be another priority in this regard.
Future activities also include the horizontal negotiation on services, that are to be started no
later than 1 January 2000.  The relevance of this sector for the global economy has been demonstratedby the difficulties recently suffered by some of the Members.  Therefore, a strong services sector,
namely the financial, telecommunications and transport subsectors, are fundamental to the
homogeneity and sustainability of any economy.
Services liberalization, taking into consideration different levels of development, is not a
"zero sum game", that is, all Members, developed as well as developing can benefit.  To fulfil this
objective we need adequate preparation of the negotiations, following the Singapore work
programme.  This preparation must focus on the iden tification of service subsectors relevant to the
majority of the Members and that need further progress on the liberalization path.
In this regard we welcome the recent initiatives to launch the debate on electronic commerce
in the WTO.  This subject has a special interest to the global community, as it affects the daily life of
our citizens and companies, specially the small- and medium-sized.  Therefore, the WTO must give
its contribution to the framework of this new kind of commerce, already in discussion in other "fora".
We also need to enlarge the scope of the WTO by further developing the issues of investment,
environment and labour standards.  The globalization and the growing economic interaction demand
multiple and coherent approaches.  The so called "new issues" have a fundamental role to play in the
strengthening of the confidence of citizens and economic actors in the multilateral trading system.WT/MIN(98)/ST/106
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The WTO rules and disciplines must consider the work being done in other international
organizations in the development of core labour standards and environmental issues.
It would be difficult not to recognize that much more progress is needed in the WTO
Committee on Trade and Environment.
We must also continue to make progress on the issue of labour standards.  The fact that the
International Labour Organization (ILO) is now making important strides in these areas demonstratesthat a debate is possible even on difficult issues.  But the WTO also needs to take action in this area.
In what regards investment, unanimously recognized as an engine for economic growth,
employment, sustainable development and rising living standards, the WTO must play a more active
role, directly contributing to the establishment of rules and disciplines that could be accepted by all
Members.
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