WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(99)/ST/146
2 December 1999
(99-5348)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Third Session
Seattle, 30 November - 3 December 1999Original:  English
LITHUANIA
Statement by H.E. Mr. Algimantas Rimkunas
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
(Speaking as an Observer)
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and our delegation let me welcome
all the honourable participants of this very exceptional Ministerial Conference.  It is important to
notice that the WTO will start its new millennium here, in Seattle, where the guidelines of the
fundamental future developments and perspectives for the Organization will be planned.
Understanding the exceptionality and importance of  this Ministerial Conference, I would like to
express our sincere gratitude to the organizers of the Conference and for giving me the possibility toparticipate in such an authoritative international forum, moreover, to speak to such a distinguished
audience.
Importance of international trade in 21
st century
At the present time, on the threshold of the new millennium, the global trade system is of high
importance for every nation.  The creation of the World Trade Organization has brought intoexistence a substantially improved legal process for a more dynamic economic environment through
the creation of a more open and predictable international trading system.  Fair, transparent and
effective discussions on trade, dispute settlement are the advantages and possibilities that the WTO
allows.  I firmly believe that every system brings stability and predictability and I think everybody
acknowledges that the WTO brings stability in international global trade.  Moreover, it gives apossibility and a framework for every country, in spite of its size of population, political regime or
political system, economic capacity to negotiate for the best of its interests, to settle disputes, finally,
to say that some actions by other countries are not fair, are injurious for one's economy.  We believe
that the WTO should and would proceed in strengthening these principles in the next millennium as
well.  The idea of all member countries to have equal possibilities to negotiate with partner-countriesin the international trading system is highly appreciable and necessary to develop and, for sure, to
implement.
In the Uruguay Round Declaration on the Contribution of the WTO to Achieving Greater
Coherence in Global Economic Policy-Making, Mini sters recognized that coherence between the
structural, macroeconomic, trade and financial aspects of the economic policy-making increases the
effectiveness of these policies.  The academics, officials, experts observing the current international
economy and the development of the countries conclude that there obviously exists a direct link
between the well-being of the country and its involvement in international trade.  And Lithuania here
is not an exception.WT/MIN(99)/ST/146
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Lithuania's strive for economic stability
Let me start by saying that Lithuania always had an objective of becoming an open, civilized
and job-creating economy, predictable and attractive partner.  Therefore, our country sought to
introduce an adequate economic system and to halt the decline in output that prevailed after thedissolution of the Soviet Union.  All this required the structural reforms, the establishment of the legal
framework, needed for the transition to a market economy.  The Lithuanian Government did its best
in creating a modern market-commercial regime:  a legal framework for private ownership and
entrepreneurial activity was introduced, the privatization of small, medium as well as large scale
enterprises such as energy, communication and transport services was launched and successfully
implemented.  Furthermore, Lithuania paid great attention to foreign investments, seeing it as a
necessary precondition for the further development possibilities of the Lithuanian economy.
These efforts of the Lithuanian policy-makers were addressed to make the Lithuanian
economy growing and predictable, to make the transi tion period to the Lithuanian citizens as much as
possible easy.  Therefore, it was broadly understood that not only internal reforms, but also the
international trade and trade liberalization as well, are important for further successful development ofthe Lithuanian economy.
Benefits of being a WTO Member
The membership in the WTO was and is the main objective of the Lithuanian foreign
economic policy.  Reading the continuous statements made by the WTO Director-General,
Mr. Mike Moore, and recollecting the views expressed by his predecessors, we conclude and firmly
believe that the WTO is a public international forum.  Seeing the WTO as a solid, honest and the
highest level forum for dispute settlements and negotiations, the Lithuanian Government considers it
as the most proper support and an opportunity to follow and implement its objectives of the economicpolicy, to get the best output for Lithuania's national economy.  Therefore, it is no wonder why WTO
membership is viewed as a necessary prerequisite for the successful further and closer cooperation in
the world.  Moreover, the wider the acceptance of the trading rules the stronger the Organization.
Lithuania's negotiations for WTO membership
Understanding the possible future benefits of WTO membership, Lithuania started already a
long-lasting and full of compromises negotiation process.  It is definitely natural and obvious that
membership in the WTO involves not only rights but also obligations.  Lithuania understands that an
applicant country should fulfil necessary minimum requirements for the membership that Lithuania at
least already implemented.  However, the negotiation process has shown that even the "minimum
requirements" were implemented, the WTO Members demand to "pay an entry fee" making newhigher requirements for membership.  The position of the Lithuanian Government is clear, definite
and, to my mind, rational – not to take more obligations than it is possible to implement, without
making huge negative impacts on our economy.
Our pre-accession work always went in parallel with implementing the most significant
structural economic reforms.  The Republic of Lithuania made a series of commitments that were the
preconditions for WTO membership.  Herewith, I can mention only the most significant ones such as
Lithuania's commitments to implement all multila teral agreements without any transition periods,
moreover, our country already joined the Inform ation Technology Agreement, considerably reduced
the number of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, expanded the liberalization of trade in services andpassed all required legislation.  The Lithuanian Government, attaching the greatest importance to the
completion of our accession negotiations and obtaining the status of full membership have made
these, to our mind, evident and very significant steps.  However, as I have already mentioned, the
accession process did not end yet.  It is still ongoing and ongoing due to agriculture issues.WT/MIN(99)/ST/146
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The agricultural sector in Lithuania, as well as in many other countries, is very sensitive and
rather problematical.  Therefore, the reforms in this most socially sensitive sector of economy are
going to launch also.  However, as far as in the Lithuanian agricultural sector was working about
one fifth of the whole population, "shock therapy" reforms and immediate reduction of the
Government support for these people would costly economically.  Trade liberalization in theagricultural and food products, in order to become a WTO Member, giving up currently used support
to the Lithuanian farmers would involve a tempora lly slowdown of our agricultural modernization and
further economic development.  Thereby, Lithuania very positively values the views of the EU
Agriculture Council to liberalize trade in agricultural  products, but first of all to prevent the national
economy from the negative side effects of excessive liberalization.
Lithuania understands that liberalization of trade in agricultural products is a problematic
issue in most countries and in parallel acknowledges the necessity to make trade in agricultural
products more liberal and globally beneficial.  Lithuania is making considerable efforts also and
therefore is very much determined to conclude negotiations on the accession in the nearest few
months to become a full-fledged member of the WTO and hopes to keep in pace with the WTO trade
liberalization guidelines in the next millennium.
It goes without saying that the global significance and importance of the WTO lies in the
application by the WTO Member States of the commonly agreed WTO rules and multilateral
agreements.  However, in our negotiation process we have noticed that some Members started using
WTO accession negotiations as a proper opportunity to compel the applicants to make moreconcessions than it is necessary.  Please, remember the particular status of "transition economy".  We
would like to adapt to the new economic constellation in the world and to rejoin global economic
structures.  But actually we really need some time to adjust.  Most of the WTO Members sometimes
forget that to arrive at their present level of "market economy" in the agricultural sector took more
than two or three years.  Their agricultures have gone through decades of massive subsidization andstate assistance for infrastructure, education, research, soil improvement, irrigation, trade support,
marketing abroad, etc.  Lithuania is on its way to restructuring its agricultural sector seeking to arrive
to normally functioning market economy.  But it takes time and support from the State.  We agree that
such support could be trade distorting.  But taking into account that many WTO Members themselves,
including key players, apply subsidies for thei r agricultural products, Lithuania understood the
application of the agricultural subsidies as being a fairly justified means of the equal competition and
the protection of the national economy.  Nevertheless, Lithuania is eager to follow the liberalization of
trade in agriculture and hopes that the demands for liberal trade will be applied to all WTO Members
equally.
"The new style" of accession to the WTO
The recent accessions have supported the idea that the WTO Member States started
demanding a WTO membership "entry fee" that prospective members must pay, particularly with
respect to the pursuit of "new issues".  Already it is not enough to fulfil the fundamental requirements
but the applicants, whatever their level of economic development, by the unilateral "requests" of the
Member States are asked to fulfil the commitments that exceed those of the most advanced WTOMember States and powerful global economies.  As a consequence some accession negotiations have
encountered undue delay.  It is no surprise then that the WTO negotiations for membership even with
small countries with economies more liberal than those of some two-thirds of the present
WTO Member States have been lasting for years.  We sincerely believe that it is not a real face of the
WTO.  We hope that in the next millennium the equal application of the WTO rules will be alreadythe WTO principle, giving protection for the countries from unilateral and arbitrary behaviour.  We
fully understand the concerns of the WTO Members in a manner consistent with their respective
needs and concerns at different levels of economic development but we hope that particular interests
of the key players are in the interest of the whole WTO, that they follow the general idea of the WTO.WT/MIN(99)/ST/146
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Moreover, we truly believe that the main and basic aim of the WTO is to become a strong and
efficient international body, to go on wisely liberalizing international trade.
The hopes on the next WTO Round
The Director-General of the WTO, Mr. Mike Moore, underscored his priorities for the Seattle
Ministerial Conference during his first media briefing in Geneva.  He has stated that "All eyes are
directed now at the Seattle Ministerial – hopes are high.  Our goal is very clear, it is better living
standards for all our people".  Lithuania fully supports and welcomes these statements and hopes that
the new agenda of the Millennium Round would give us a possibility to join the WTO.
We hope that the Millennium Round will also show that contributing to the global
development is not just a matter of the efforts of the individual countries.  We understand that it is
rather difficult to moderate the national interests to fit the global well-being but we hope that for the
global benefit every State could make the concessions, to negotiate for more liberal trade, but without
making a negative impact on the economies of her partners.  Lithuania is ready to join the global
economic forum – the WTO – and ready to contribute for the best of the further development of theglobal economy.  We also hope the WTO would welcome our membership and future input.
We welcome the ambitious agenda on the new Millennium Round.  Lithuania supports the
liberalization of trade in services and hopes that the Member States will reach agreement in this
quickly expanding sector.  Trade liberalization in agricultural products, certainly, is inevitable but wewould adhere to the idea expressed by the member countries from Central and Eastern Europe that
transition economies should be allowed to introduce or continue to use support measures necessary
for the economic transformation of their agriculture.  Also, we support the EU statement that
agriculture, being a very socially sensitive sector, should be liberalized very rationally without making
a negative impact not only on the rural economy but on the landscape and environment as well.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the honourable audience for giving me the possibility to
express the views of the representative of the country that was already for a long time in the
negotiation process for membership in the WTO.
Finally, I would like to express my full confidence and belief in the WTO to realize its
mandate and high priorities fully.  I believe that the Millennium Round will give the possibility to theWTO to become a more effective instrument of promotion of the global economic development, that
the WTO future strategy will be very important for the successful development of emerging and
transitional economies, as well as in their integration within the international trading system and,
indeed, the world economy.
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