WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/127
12December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5301)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
DOMINICA
Statement byTheHonourable Norris Charles
Minister forTrade andMarketing
Letmeextend mysincere thanks andappreciation totheGovernment andpeople ofSingapore
fortheirgenerous hospitality andtheexcellent arrangements made forhosting thisConference.
Thepreamble oftheWTO Agreement isafitting andconstant reminder thatthisbody must
conduct itsaffairs withaview toraising standards ofliving ofourpeoples, andtoensuring full
employment andsteadily growing realincome. Thepreamble recognizes theneedforpositive efforts
designed toensure thatdeveloping countries, andespecially themostvulnerable andleastdeveloped
among them, secure ashare inthegrowth ininternational trade commensurate withtheneeds oftheir
economic development.
Various studies ontheresults oftheUruguay Round estimate itsimpact onglobal income and
welfare inexcess of$200 billion bytheturnofthecentury. However, most ofthegains willgoto
thedeveloped andmore developed among thedeveloping countries, which arethose countries that
havethecapacity totakeadvantage oftheopportunities which arecreated.
AstudybytheInternationalTradeCentreconcludedthatsomedevelopingcountrieswillactually
experience alossinexport earnings. This, thestudy argues, isespecially apparent forthose developing
countries thataredependent ononlyafewprimary commodities fortheirexport earnings, those that
aredependent onpreferential market access, andthose thathavenotbeentoosuccessful indiversifying
theireconomic baseintotraditional manufactured exports andservices.
TheGovernmentofDominicaisaddressingtheissueofeconomicreformandadjustmenthead-on,
many aspects ofwhich arenotpartofthedisciplines ofthisorganization, butwhich undoubtedly will
improve oureconomic efficiency andcompetitiveness.
Butthatnotwithstanding, weinDominica andsomeoftheotherMember States oftheCaribbean
Community, faceconstraints which mitigate against ourfullparticipation inthemultilateral trading
system. Ourexperience todatehasnotbeenpositive.
Itisveryinstructive tonotethatasafounding Member oftheWTO, Dominica wasunable
toactively participate inanymeaningful wayintheUruguay Round duetothelackofresources. We
could notevenmaintain apermanent presence inGeneva atthattime. Likemany other developing
countries, wetherefore accepted a"single undertaking" negotiated byother Member States, andare
nowgrappling withtheimplications ofthecommitments which wemade.
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Dominica hassofarbeenunable toidentify anytangible benefits fromtheWTO Agreement.
Instead, wehaveexperienced anerosion ofthepreferential margins weenjoyed forourmain export
commodity resulting inalossofmarket share andexport earnings. Thishasbeenfollowed bya
challenge brought before theDispute Settlement Body involving acommodity inwhich some Eastern
Caribbean States haveavitalinterest. Ourexperiences asathirdparty before thepanel hasnotbeen
without difficulty.
Thedispute settlement mechanism isacentral feature inproviding security andpredictability
tothemultilateral trading system. Itexists topreserve therights andobligations ofallmembers under
thevarious agreements. Thepresent system fordispute settlement, however, hasproven tobe
unfavourable inrespect oftheparticipation ofsmall andinstitutionally weak contracting parties. We
lackthein-house expertise tohandle allofthetechnical legalities ofapanel. Wearealsodenied the
right tohave legal consultant advisers present atpanel hearings, notwithstanding their proper
accreditation. Thisserves tohighlight theriskofmarginalization ofsmall developing countries in
themultilateral system.
Dominica isamong thesmallest oftheWTO Members. Asasmall, structurally weak and
vulnerable economy, welackthefinancial andhuman resources, andtheinstitutional capacity necessary
tofullycomply withoutcommitments, tocompete intheglobal economy, andtobenefit from the
trade opportunities which maybecreated.
TheWTO recognizes thespecial circumstances oftheleastdeveloped countries, andrightly
so.Wefullyendorse theplanofaction fortheleastdeveloped countries. But,small structurally weak
andvulnerable States alsofaceconstraints which aresimilar inmany respects tothose oftheleast
developed countries, andwhich require formal recognition andspecial attention bytheWTO. These
constraints haveresulted inourmarginalization inthemultilateral trade process.
Duetolackofadequate institution capacity, many ofthesmall developing countries willnot
beabletoparticipate inthe"educating process", theworking groups, andthespecial committees which
arebeing called fortolookatthenewissues. Theintroduction ofnewissues, atatimewhen developing
countries havedifficulties coping withthedemands ofexisting agreements, including those under the
built-in agenda, willimpose further burdens onus.
TheWTO mustfocus more attention onmeasures aimed atintegrating intotheglobal economy
those countries thataremarginalized, before wecantakeontheadded responsibilities ofthenewissues.
There isneedforgreater focus onproviding hands-on technical assistance thatwillfacilitate developing
countries toparticipate meaningfully andtodevelop thecapacity tocompete effectively intheworld
trading system. TheWTO andUNCTAD must work together inthisregard.
Dominica recognizes thatthevulnerability ofsmall island developing States cannot begiven
asareason forcomplacency byourpeople, orforalackofdynamism ineconomic policy. Onthe
contrary, thisplaces aspecial responsibility ongovernment, theprivate sector andthesocial partners
incollaboration withtheinternational community toinstitute measures under aphased programme
aimed atenhancing ourability tocompete internationally andtomeetourWTO obligations.
Onbehalf oftheGovernment andpeople oftheCommonwealth ofDominica, mydelegation
extends courtesies totheGovernment andpeople ofSingapore, theDirector-General andstaffofthe
World Trade Organization.