WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/126
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5303)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
ST.KITTS AND NEVIS
Statement byTheHonourable Terence SamCondor
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister ofTrade andIndustry
Thetrade environment ischanging rapidly forthesmall island States oftheOrganization of
Eastern Caribbean States ofwhich St.Kitts andNevis isamember. Trade based onpreferential
arrangements withEurope andNorth America isgiving waytorules-based agreements thataremarket-
orientated andfounded ontheprinciple ofreciprocity. Given thesmall sizeandopenness oftheIslands '
economies, eveniftheyadapt tothenewrules, theyriskeconomic marginalization. Protectionist
policies, wearetold,arenolonger viable options, although theymaybeinourbestinterest. Wehave
tomake legislative andregulatory changes required tomeetobligations under theWTO andtofacilitate
acompetitive response toglobal trade liberalization.
Thelegislative andregulatory changes required tomeet theUruguay Round Accords, pose
serious problems ontheability andcapacity ofourcountry.
Lack ofresources andexpertise make notification andimplementation particularly onerous.
Thesheernumberofnotificationrequirementsimposesaheavyburdenandhasresultedinalowresponse
ratio. Technical assistance isrequired ifwearetoadhere inatimely manner toourobligations in
theimplementation ofnational legislation. TheMinisterial meeting atMarrakesh in1994pledged the
WTO toassist itspoorer Members indeveloping acapability tomeettheirobligations under theWTO.
This, webelieve, should bethefocus ofthemeeting inSingapore. Itshould review andtake
stock ontheprogress intheimplementation oftheUruguay Round commitments; focus onthe
completion ofunfinished business andwork related toareas specified inthebuilt-in agenda. Itwould
alsobeuseful ifthemeeting tooktheopportunity toassess theimpact onthedeveloping countries and
notethe"winners" and"losers", andifsome arrangements could bemade toaccommodate the"losers".
When theUruguay Round wasnegotiated, small countries likeSt.KittsandNevis didnothave
anynegotiators. Wefeared being leftoutandthere wasalackofknowledge ontheissues. Wefelt
wehadtojointhebandwagon ifwewere nottobeleftoutside thegates andifwewere toprotect
theinterest ofourbanana producing economies. Onlytimewilltellifwehavesucceeded inthelatter.
Weneedtimetoexamine iftheUruguay Round hashelped us.
There isaview thatthemomentum ofuniversal freetrade ushered inbytheconclusion of
theUruguay Round should bemaintained andtoensure this,themandate oftheWTO should be
broadened toincluded newissues suchas:
(a) Multilateral investment rules;
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(b) labour standards;
(c) competition policy; and
(d) government procurement.
Some ofthese issues likeinvestment andlabour, areofmajor concern toSt.KittsandNevis.
Weseekinvestment toenable ustodiversify oureconomy andlessen ourdependence onthe
traditional exports which havebeennegatively impacted bytheWTO provisions. Wehaveseenthe
prices ofourexports decrease andforourimports increase, which tosmall island States andnetfood-
importing countries likeours, poseconsiderable difficulties andlimitourability toparticipate inthe
evolving world economy. Aninvestment regime which doesnotprovide fordifferential treatment
ofsmall fragile economies might notbeconsidered appropriate orequitable.
Withregard tolabour issues, mydelegation isfullycommitted tothepursuit ofnational policies
thatprotect therights ofworkers andenhance labour welfare. Webelieve itisdesirable thatthere
beinternationally recognized labour standards thatincorporate thefreedom ofassociation, theright
toorganize andbargain collectively, prohibition offorced labour andnon-discrimination inemployment.
Wedonotbelieve however, thattheWTO istheforum toundertake aninvestigation intothelinkage
between trade andlabour standards. Webelieve theissue could bebetter explored inaspecialized
agency liketheInternational Labour Organization, which hastherequisite competence andexpertise
inthearea.
TheGovernment Procurement Agreement should continue tobeoptional tosmall island States
which should beallowed todecide iftheAgreement islikely tobeofbenefit tothem. Much more
information isneeded before thismatter canberesolved.
Finally, theareaofcompetition policy isverycomplex andneeds careful study andanalysis.
Welacktheinstitutional capacity andresources toundertake theadditional commitments which the
inclusion ofthistopic intheWTO would involve.
Itisourbeliefthatappropriateinstitutionsalreadyexistwherethenewissuescanbeinvestigated,
developed andrefined without bringing themunder theumbrella oftheWTO andbysodoing overload
itsagenda.
Fellow Ministers, weshould becareful thattheWTO doesnotmarch sofarinfront thatit
loses contact withthemajority ofitsMembers.