WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/ST/98
20May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2115)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE Original: English
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OFTAIWAN,
PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU
Statement Circulated byDr.Chih-kang Wang,
Minister ofEconomic Affairs
(AsanObserver)
This isasignificant yearinworld trade asitmarks the50th Anniversary ofGeneral
Agreement onTariffs andTrade (GATT), theprelude totheWorld Trade Organization (WTO). This
yearalsocoincides withtheSecond Ministerial Conference oftheWTO, atimeforministers tocome
together toprepare forthemillennium discussions.
WTO hassuccessfully succeeded theGATT inproviding asolid multilateral framework for
trade supported byasetofwell-negotiated rules andanexpanded agenda, dealing withissues going
farbeyond thelowering oftariff fortrade ingoods. Thecomprehensive andprompt implementation
ofthecommitments isakeyelement incontributing totherealization oftheWTO mandate. Looking
backatthepastthree years ofcollective endeavour byMembers, theWTO hasbeeninstrumental in
setting thepacefortrade liberalization. Nonetheless, thetrading environment isnotastatic oneand
without newchallenges. Trade-related issues have emerged from thedeepening interdependence
between trading economies. Theextent ofthisinterdependence isunfortunately exemplified inthe
recent domino effect oftheAsian financial crisis.
OntheAsian financial crisis, wearefortunate tobelessaffected thanother emerging
economies from theonset ofthecrisis thathasgripped many others over therecent months.
Although wearenotcompletely untouched, wehave continued toassess andtolearn from the
financial crisis. Theeffectiveness oftheprogressive liberalization policies ofmyGovernment is
reaffirmed bythecurrent crisis.
Wewant tourge Members thatthisisneither atime forprotectionist policies northe
suspension orundue delays inthereform process. Infact,ithasbecome even more crucial to
maintain themomentum oftrade liberalization process thattheglobal trading community hastaken
halfacentury torealize. Thecrisis willbeourlearning tool,toreview ourapproach andtomake
thenecessary changes aswecross intothenextmillennium. Onthisnote, wewould liketosee
greater coordination andintegration between therelevant agencies indelivering solutions tothecrisis.
Thismaybegin withcloser coordination between theIMFandtheWTO, tolaydown afeasible
structure foreconomies towork together.
WTO Accession
Theliberalization policy pursued byourGovernment isalsoreflective inourbidforWTO
membership. More thaneight years havepassed since oursubmission ofapplication fortheGATT
membership, andthentheWTO membership withtheestablishment ofWTO in1995. Wewould like
totakethisopportunity toexpress ourappreciation toWTO Members whohaveparticipated inourWT/MIN(98)/ST/98
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accession process, fortheirsupport andcooperation.
Wehavemade verysubstantial progress inthebilateral market access negotiations; onlytwo
Members remain forfurther consultations andtheoutstanding issues areverylimited. Ourgoalisto
complete allbilateral negotiations inthenearfuture. Toachieve this,wewillcontinue toseekthe
cooperation andassistance ofourtrading partners.
Along withtheprogress ofthebilateral negotiations, wehave continued toimprove our
accession package. Thisexercise iscomplemented byanoverhaul ofdomestic lawsandregulations
andtoensure theirconsistency withWTO rules.
Inaddition, wehaveparticipated inthenegotiations forandimplemented therequirements
ofITAonaMFN basis; andnowactively participate intheITA-II negotiations. Theresults of
ITA-I andITA-II willbeincluded inouraccession tariff schedule, andbecome partofourWTO
obligations atthetimeofouraccession.
Wehavemade many difficult decisions anddomestic sacrifice inourendeavour toimprove
ouraccession package. Asaresult, wewillbepresenting anunprecedented accession package. This
isdemonstrative ofourdetermination tobecome aWTO Member andourcommitment tothe
multilateral trading system.
Implementation oftheWTO Agreements andMinisterial Decisions
TheWTO Agreements aretheresults ofalonganddifficult round ofnegotiation; theyare
alsoimportant elements ofacomprehensive andambitious liberalization plancollectively developed
byMembers. Fullandtimely implementation ofthispackage, isessential formovement towards
further trade liberalization. Itisworth tonotethatthepost-UR discussions ontheimplementation
oftheWTO Agreements, especially intheareas ofimport administration ofagricultural products, and
transparency inrespect ofvarious domestic systems andpolicies affecting trade, havealready been
considered inouraccession exercise. Weareconfident thatatthetimeofouraccession, wewillbe
ready andabletofully implement therequirements oftheWTO Agreements, withoneortwo
exceptions where transition periods arearranged.
Wearealsosupportive oftheinitiatives taken atandaftertheSingapore Ministerial Meeting
forstrengthening themultilateral trading system andforfurthering theWTO objectives. Inparticular,
wewould liketonotethefollowing:
- Wewelcome theoutcome oftheHigh-Level Meeting onLeast-Developed Countries, andwill
explore thepossibility ofproviding support tothetechnical assistance programs, and
participate inthediscussion onimproving market access fortheleast-developed countries,
- Wewould liketoseecontinuing discussions ontradeandcompetition, tradeandenvironment,
trade andinvestment, andtransparency ingovernment procurement, astheissues involved
areessential forbroadening anddeepening trade liberalization. Itis,however, important to
keepbalanced theinterests ofdifferent participants inorder togainthemaximum support for
these endeavours.
Future activities oftheWTO
TheWTO Agreements, Plurilateral Agreements andrelated Decisions andDeclarationsWT/MIN(98)/ST/98
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contain elements forreview, future work andnegotiations. These elements should begiven priority
inthecontemplation ofthefuture activities oftheWTO.
Fornegotiations already mandated, itwould beimportant forMembers todiscuss anddecide
onanagenda tofacilitate thecommencement ofthenegotiations. Wewould liketoparticipate insuch
discussions andalsothesubsequent negotiations. Ifwearenotamember oftheWTO bythetime
thenegotiations commence, wewould stillwant toparticipate fully inthenegotiations, withthe
results tobeimplemented before theaccession onanautonomous basis, andaftertheaccession asa
matter ofWTO obligation.
Conclusion
Itiscrucial thatpolicy-makers maintain themomentum inthesearch forconsensus in
confronting newchallenges aswemove intothenewmillennium towards atrade regime thatis
consistently becoming more complex anddiverse. Asaresponsible member ofinternational trading
community, wewillparticipate inthenewdiscussions onagriculture, trade inservices, trade-related
aspects ofintellectual property rights andother issues, when thenecessary consensus hasbeenbuilt.
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