The presence of foreign participants encourages local financial service providers to improve their performance. In turn, local enterprises benefit from greater access to increased inflows of capital and expertise. Success in the financial services negotiations will crown the achievements of the WTO and its predecessor, the GATT, in dismantling barriers to trade and investment over 50 years. During this period, international trade has expanded faster than domestic economic growth, and has thus become the driving force for global economic progress. The liberalization of trade in goods and services will never achieve its full potential if it is not accompanied by corresponding liberalization of financial services.
Financial services fuel the engine of international trade.
Unless governments reach agreement by the 12 December 1997 deadline, the existing interim accord will lapse, and we shall be back to square one. We would then face the daunting prospect of beginning all over again in the year 2000. That would not only be a blow to business confidence but also a significant setback for the world economy.