The Australian Government has mirrored these efforts at the domestic level with a number of publications and activities aimed at informing the community on the benefits of trade liberalisation for Australia and the international trading community. We should be clear, however, that the WTO is an intergovernmental organisation which deals with legal rights and obligations. It must work effectively, and we should bear this well in mind as we look for greater transparency. We must handle the trade policy issues raised by regionalism. We must recognise that the best solution for all lies in an acceleration of multilateral liberalisation, not a resort to preferential treatment for smaller groups of countries.
Regionalism can be a positive force.
It can be used to promote and build more open and complementary markets and thereby strengthen the multilateral system. But it is a second-best solution. Universality is a key issue. More than 30 economies have applied to become members. Joining the WTO is qualitatively quite different to joining most other global bodies.