99-4720 MOREPRESS RELEASE
PRESS/142
1 November 1999
Mike Moore opens "Geneva Week"
Attached is the full text of the statement made by Mike Moore, Director-General of the WTO,
on 1 November 1999, on the opening day of "Geneva Week". The purpose of "Geneva Week" is tohelp WTO Members and Observers who do not have a permanent delegation in Geneva prepare for
the third Ministerial Conference of the WTO.PRESS/142
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MOREExcellencies,
Distinguished representatives,
Friends,
On behalf of the WTO, I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to all participants at this
"Geneva Week" for Non-Geneva based WTO Member and Observer delegations.  This is an
Organization to which you belong, either as a Me mber or to which you are an observer.  Most
observers are in the process of acceding to the WTO, and we look forward to welcoming you as full
Members.
For me, this is a week of great significance. Virtually all of the WTO Members and observer
delegations, without permanent physical representation here in Geneva, are present here today, at theWTO, as We prepare for the Third Ministerial Conference, scheduled to take place in Seattle from 30
November to 3 December 1999 – exactly one month from today.  Your presence here is a positive
step in the complex and on-going process of assis ting the integration of the smaller and vulnerable
countries - the least-developed countries and other small economies, into the Multilateral Trading
System.
I want to express my profound gratitude to the WTO Member governments that made this
"Geneva Week" possible through their generous contribution and funding, in particular the
Governments of the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland.
I would like to acknowledge the contribution of  Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of
UNCTAD, who will be present here this afternoon, as well as those of Dr. Khamil Idris, Director-
General, WIPO, and Mr. Denis Bélisle, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC).  I
also extend my appreciation to the representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund, and to the representatives of the other Organiza tions who will participate in this week's events.
It is important to recognize the valuable contributions made in the design of the Programme
for this Week by Ambassador Anthony Hill.  I continue to rely on his advice, experience and his
intellectual insights as to how the process of the integration of developing countries into the
multilateral trading system can be assisted and accelerated.  As you will note in the Programme beforeyou, Tony will moderate several of the Sessions.
The WTO has often been said to be a Member-driven Organization.  It is your Organization,
and we are your Secretariat.  Our objective is to make sure that the needs of your Governments are
met and that even if you are physically thousands of miles away, you can feel that you are in close
communication with us here in Geneva and that we can interact.
This is why the focus of the week is on "ass isting integration into the trading system", and
why we are devoting an important part of the time to listening, and responding to what you feel you
need from us.  We hope to learn from you and, therefore, better serve you because of this programme.
We have also invited many of our sister agencies which are based, or have offices in Geneva
to explain their roles, in policy analysis and capac ity-building.  I am grateful to these Organizations
for having sent senior staff Members to deliver presentations.
We shall be asking you during the week to let us know your priorities and needs in terms of
technical assistance; whether the Reference Centres that the WTO has installed in many of yourMinistries meet your needs; and whether the quality of assistance you receive from us is adequate;
and what more can be done to improve what we do.PRESS/142
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MOREOn my first day as Director-General, I stated my priorities as follows:
- to facilitate and assist all participants to get the most balanced outcome from
the new negotiations, and an outcome which benefits the most vulnerable
economies;
- to be an advocate for the benefits to both great and modest nations of a more
open trading system, and one that can increase living standards and build amore prosperous, safer world; and,
- to strengthen the WTO and its rules, to build on and maintain its reputation
for integrity and fairness, and to reshape the organization to reflect the reality
of its membership and their needs.
My commitment will not waiver in promoting the just and rational trade interests of the
smaller, the vulnerable and the marginalized countries.
I would like to underscore five points  which provide an important background and setting for
this "Geneva Week".
First , I believe that it is vital that we continue to remind ourselves of the value and
contributions of the multilateral trading system over a fifty year period, to raising living standards andbuilding a better more stable world.  Of paramount importance has been the establishment of the
rules-based system.  Of equal importance have been those core values now universally accepted to be
WTO values, namely the principle of non-discrimination, as expressed in Most Favoured Nation
(mfn) and National Treatment , transparency, predictability and the rule of law .  Much work
remains to be done to realize more fully the benefits of the multilateral trading system; and there willalways be scope for improvement in the system itself.  The fact that there are 37 countries here today
who are not represented in Geneva and many of whom are not yet Members, speaks clearly enough of
one area where improvement is essential.
Second , we need to acknowledge that the multilateral trading system has delivered great
benefits by creating a stable, rules-based framework, and driving forward trade liberalization.
However, trade liberalization  per se  is not an end in itself.  The ultimate goal of trade liberalization is
the achievement of rapid economic growth and sustai nable development, which should in turn lead to
poverty alleviation.  Over 3 billion people live in poverty, that is, on less than US$2 dollar a day.  We
need to exert ourselves and focus our efforts to offer all peoples, particularly the poor and themarginalized, the gift of opportunity.  Nonetheless,  even as we acknowledge that trade is an engine
for growth and  necessary  for development, we also need to come to terms with the fact that it is not a
sufficient  condition.  Many other factors intervene in  the complex relationship between trade and
development, including national policies in such areas as macro-economic management and
regulation, governance and the rule of law.
Third , coherence in global economic management is indispensable in the task of assisting the
integration of developing countries into the multilateral trading system, in poverty alleviation and the
urgent task of accelerating development by increasing growth rates.  To this end, the WTO is working
actively with the World Bank and the Intern ational Monetary Fund (IMF), under the Mandate
provided by our Ministers in Marrakesh.  We hope that our efforts, combined with those of other
organizations, will deliver concrete benefits to developing countries on debt relief, project andprogramme assistance, improving and enhancing technical assistance for trade-related capacity-
building and institution-building.
Fourth , we all have an obligation to assist in improving public understanding of the benefits
of trade liberalization, and the damaging cost to national economies of trade protection. Often, it isPRESS/142
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MOREargued that protection is required to save jobs.  However, what escapes public scrutiny and what is
unmentioned are the short to long-term costs to a country's tax payer of trade protection.  These costsarise from production inefficiencies, delayed adjustment, inefficiency in resource allocation potential,
corruption, and so on.  In the rich countries of the OECD, the cost of protection to consumers has
been estimated at US$300 billion; and in one country the cost to consumers of protecting a single job
was estimated at US$600,000.  Open, liberalizing, market-oriented economies do better and grow
faster than closed, trade restrictive economies.  This is a historic fact.
Fifth , as noted a moment ago, the General Council of the WTO is now in the final month of
its preparatory work for the Seattle Ministerial Conference.  This process began in September last
year, pursuant to paragraph 9 of the Geneva Ministerial Conference.  The preparatory process is now
in an advanced stage.  Preparations include the dr afting of a Ministerial Declaration for Ministers to
adopt at Seattle.  Much work still remains to be done.  Active negotiations are underway, including in
this period that you will be here.  We shall be devoting a large part of this week to the discussion of"Seattle issues".
The Seattle Ministerial Conference will set the trade policy agenda for the new Millennium
by adopting a Ministerial Declaration, and launching a new Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.
For the Declaration and for the scope of a new Round of Trade Negotiations, all Members haveemphasised the fundamental importance of implementation  of past Agreements negotiated under the
Uruguay Round.  Under implementation, basic and fundamental issues of systemic importance have
been raised.  These are being negotiated.
Following from the Uruguay Round, Members are already committed to negotiations in
agriculture and services.  There are other issues.  Members must decide how far to go on those issues
that arose at the First WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore - the so called "new issues" - namely,
investment, competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation.
A Declaration was adopted by Ministers at the Second WTO Ministerial Conference, here in
Geneva, last year, on electronic commerce.  Members are negotiating how to proceed with what is one
of the most rapidly growing areas of commercial tr ansactions in the global trading system today – an
area of huge potential and opportunity.  Proposals have been made and negotiations are evolving on
the environmental sustainability of WTO Agreements, including those that may be negotiated in a
new Round.
The scope of a new Round must be balanced and reflect the interests of all Members.  I have
stated as my priority the necessity of working with Members to ensure that poor countries in
particular obtain a balanced outcome from a new Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.  This is
my firm commitment.
One of the proposals for the new Round, which I believe that WTO Members will agree to, is
that participants will include both WTO Members and countries in the process of acceding.  At the
end of the day, of course, it will be the Members alone that will decide outcomes.  I appeal to all
participants present here to give their strong support to the negotiations and for those who are in
accession negotiations, to try to complete them as soon as possible.  We stand ready to assist in any
way we can.  A new Round will maintain the momentum for trade liberalization, keep protectionismat bay, improve market access and enhance the prospects for rapid growth and development.PRESS/142
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ENDThis brings me to the three central purposes of this "Geneva Week".
First , Seattle is a month away, and inputs by non- resident Members into the process is not
only a right, but is also desirable.  It makes us all stronger.  The experience of participants gathered
here today, their concerns, problems and needs, will be a valuable contribution to the preparatory
process for the Ministerial Conference.
Second , this is an exercise in transparency.  Some Members have expressed the view that in
previous Rounds of Trade Negotiations, they were uninvolved in the preparatory process, and even
when the negotiations began, they did not participate.  Even worse, when they signed agreements,
they were not aware of what they had signed.  It would be helpful if views are clearly expressed here
on how some of the problems arising from non-residency can be addressed, including in the course of
negotiations in a new Round of Trade Negotiations.  Not just this week but right through the Round.
Third , this is also an exercise in broadening WTO decision-making.  Copies of the current
draft Ministerial Declaration will be circulated.  Members of the Secretariat will make presentations
on issues of systemic importance as well as the current structure, issues in the draft text and the state
of play.  I urge participants to interact actively with the resource persons and those who will make
presentations.
Lastly , I have asked Ambassador Hill and my Secretariat colleagues to advise me, in
consultation with you on how the ideas, views and suggestions that will result from your discussions
can be taken further after Seattle and, to that end, how the WTO can be of assistance.
Again, I extend a warm welcome to all participants; and will now hand-over to Ambassador
Hill, who will moderate the First Session  on: Participation in the WTO: opportunities for small
developing countries, resources available, and how to use them .
Ambassador Hill you have the Chair.  Thank you.