WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/7
9December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5154)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
ADDRESS BYTHE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
MR.RENATO RUGGIERO
Thisisaveryimportant meeting. Ifthecompletion oftheUruguay Round inMarrakesh closed
animportant chapter ofeconomic history, thisfirstMinisterial Conference inSingapore opens anew
one. Thisisnotanewchapter justbecause ourorganization hasanewname ornewsectors of
responsibility oranewdispute settlement procedure. Itisanewchapter inthesense thatwehave
brought together 127countries inasingle undertaking andunder asetoffundamental rules shared
byall.Itisanewchapter inthesense thatourworld ofdeepening integration andinterdependence
isdemanding anewunity ofvision.
Theunity ofindustrialized, developing, least-developed andtransition economies isthemost
valuable asset ofthisorganization. Itisbecause ofthisunity thatmembership inthisorganization
isproving soattractive tothe28candidates foraccession, whoinclude some oftheworld 'slargest
economies aswellassome ofthesmallest.
Thisunity isstillafragile one,however. Wehavetodoallwecannotjusttomaintain it
buttostrengthen it.ThisfirstMinisterial meeting hastosendaveryclear message tothateffect.
Itcandosofirstofallbyreaching agreement onthefewissues which arestilloutstanding interms
oftheMinisterial Declaration. Though theyarefewinnumber, theirpolitical sensitivity isundeniable.
However, during thepreparatory process wehavebeenabletonarrow thedistances oneachoneof
them toanextent thatshould greatly facilitate thetaskofMinisters inreaching overall agreement.
Consensus istheruleofthisorganization; butconsensus means firstofallashared responsibility.
Iknow thatevery Minister herewillparticipate inthiseffort forthegood ofthesystem andallofits
Members.
Wemeetatatimewhich isoneoftransition inthetrading system, frommany points ofview.
Firstly, because theprocess ofglobal economic integration ismoving onrapidly, andhasindeed
gonepastthepoint ofnoreturn. Wecanseethemeaning ofglobalization everywhere inourdaily
lives. OurtaskintheWTO istoaccompany thisprocess withrules anddisciplines which are
internationally agreed andaccepted andabletobeapplied. Thisistheunique contribution thatthis
organization canmake toglobal prosperity andcooperation, anditisanimportant partofthereason
whylarge andsmall nations, developed anddeveloping alike, seeitassoimportant.
Secondly, oursystem ischanging because theworld economy ischanging. Information,
know-how, ideas --these arethenewforces thataredriving theglobal economy forward. Thisnew
economy willbedifferent fromtheoldbecause knowledge isbotharesource andaproduct --thenew
capital ofeconomic growth, butcapital which canbemade accessible toall.Intheeconomy ofthe
twenty-first century, knowledge, likewater, willbeanessential resource. Ourchallenge istoextend
andwiden theglobal aquaducts --tohelptoirrigate parched soil. Forexample, byliberalizing
telecommunications wecanhelpputatelephone inevery village -something thatcanmake thedifference
between lifeanddeath. Byliberalizing information technologies wecaneducate ourpeople onascaleWT/MIN(96)/7
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unimaginable tenortwenty years ago,empowering them tocompete intheglobal economy. Thisis
thehuman dimension ofglobalization. Thisiswhyliberalization isthewellspring ofprogress forall
theworld 'speoples.
Andthirdly, because thewayweoperate within themultilateral trading system isitself in
transition.Ournegotiationscannolongerbebasedonlyontraditionalsectorsortraditionalassumptions.
Oursuccess inthedaysahead willnotonlybemeasured byourability toseethefuture, but
byourwillingness toleadtheway. Thismustbeleadership byallcountries, every government, each
ofusinthisroom. Forsome countries theirability totakealeading roleinthetrading system has
beenlimited byresource constraints. Wemustwork much harder inthefuture togivethese countries
astronger voice.
Thismust alsobeleadership firmly rooted inpublic support. Gone tooarethedayswhen
trade agreements were theaffairs ofnegotiators orgovernments alone.
Aworldtradingsystemwhichhasthesupportofaknowledgeableandengagedglobalcommunity
willbeinafarstronger position tomanage theforces ofglobalization foreveryone 'sbenefit. This
iswhythepresence hereofsomany representatives ofnon-governmental organizations, thebusiness
sector, andthemedia issoimportant. ThisConference will,Iamsure, sendaclearmessage tothem
andtotheworld beyond. Itshould beafirm message about ourdetermination tofight the
marginalization ofpeople andregions, andabout thepower oftradetopromote thegrowth which allows
governments toaddress problems ofdistribution. Itshould beapositive message about therelationship
between tradeandenvironmental policies. Anditshould beareaffirmation that,since abasic purpose
ofourefforts istoraiseliving standards worldwide, tradeliberalization helps create amore favourable
climate fortheobservance ofcorelabour standards.
Leadership inaninterdependent world ismore thanevertheartofcooperation. Itisabout
recognizing thatournational interests areincreasingly global interests andthatoureconomic security
increasingly hinges onthestrength ofothers. Ifthemultilateral trading system istorisetothechallenges
ofthisrapidly changing reality, wewillallhavetogiveupoldhabits ofthought andpatterns of
behaviour anddevelop together some newapproaches tonegotiating mutually beneficial rules and
commitments insectors where products cancross frontiers inafraction ofasecond. Ifwealways
seatourselves onopposite sides ofthenegotiating table, thenconsensus canbecome acodeword for
gridlock.
Ouragenda, atthisconference andbeyond, isaverycomplex one. Wehavetoarrive atan
equilibrium which respects thecommon desire toemphasize theimplementation ofwhathasalready
beenagreed. Implementing the27,000 pages ofagreements undertaken byalltheMembers ofthis
organization inthefewyears ahead isamajor endeavour, andonethatwehaveonlyjustbegun. It
would bewrong toimagine thatimplementation doesnotalsomean keeping uptheliberalizing
momentum. Iwanttopaytribute totheefforts ofallMembers inthisrespect, butparticularly tothe
verygreatefforts thatarebeing made bydeveloping andtransition economies andtheenormous efforts
oftheleast-developed countries.
Thereport oftheGeneral Council which Ambassador Rossier hasjustpresented toyouissolid
evidence ofthescale ofwhathasbeenachieved inthepasttwoyears --aswellasthechallenges we
stillface--intheimplementation process. Itsimportance isunderlined intheWTO Annual Report
which Iampresenting toyou. TheAnnual Report notes theevolution oftrade policies ofdeveloped,
developing andtransition-economy Members inthedirection ofliberal trade regimes, greater resort
totariff-based measures andtransparency. These policies represent thesurest means toexpand the
participation ofallcountries intoday'sincreasingly dynamic international trade. Inturn,theAnnualWT/MIN(96)/7
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Report alsoshows howtrade continues tobeapowerful engine ofgrowth: global trade again grew
lastyearbyoneofthefastest ratesinadecade andnowexceeds US$6 trillion forthefirsttime, with
thestimulus thisrepresents forjobcreation worldwide.
Thecontinuation ofthisvirtuous circle isinyour hands asyouguide theWTO 'swork
programme -which hasalready inlarge partbeenagreed. Andbeyond this,youhavethechallenge
ofagreeing onliberalization ininformation technology products andofgiving themomentum tothe
negotiations onbasic telecommunications thatwillhelpensure their successful conclusion bythe
15February deadline. InthelightofwhatIsaidamoment ago,theimportance ofthese agreements
cannot beoverestimated. These aresectors where wearetrulytrading intothefuture.
Othermajorprioritiesfor1997aretoconcludetheequallyvitalnegotiationsinfinancialservices,
andtocombine ourstrong commitment withthatofthecandidates toconclude --ormake realprogress
towards concluding --some ofthemajor accession negotiations. Ialsosincerely urgeallmember
governments tofindarapid andpositive solution tooneoutstanding implementation issue ofgreat
importance -theformal establishment oftheWTO Secretariat asaseparate entity, inlinewiththe
decisions taken atMarrakesh.
Lastly, Iwould hopetoseefromalltheMinisters present atthismeeting, asasignal ofyour
intention toholdahigh-profile celebration ofthe50thanniversary ofthemultilateral trading system,
which fallsatthebeginning of1998. Itwould beaunique occasion notjusttocelebrate oneofthe
major international success stories ofourtimebutalsotolookahead intothefast-moving prospects
ofthenewcentury.