WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(03)/ST/27
11 September 2003
(03-4783)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fifth Session
Cancún, 10 - 14 September 2003Original:  English
CZECH REPUBLIC
Statement by H.E. Dr Miroslav Somol
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade
I should like first of all to associate myself fully with the words of  gratitude to the
authorities and people of Mexico and of the city of  Cancún for graciously hosting this Ministerial
Conference.
Like many others, I too wish to congratulate Minister Derbez on his assumption of the
Chairmanship.  We have no doubts that the heavy responsibilities incumbent upon him are in good
hands.  It will give us a great deal of pleasure to cooperate with him in every possible way.
Our thanks go also to the Chairman of the General Council, and to the Director-General and
his staff for their hard work in preparing for this Ministerial.
At the Conference held in Doha, Ministers unanimously expressed their readiness to
participate in the broad and balanced work programme which is beneficial to all Members and results
in more economic growth, employment and sust ainable development worldwide.  It was a
demonstration of a collective will to secure further trade liberalization, as well as to bring about astrengthened and expanded multilateral trading system, one which is sufficiently responsive to the
challenges of today's world.  To bring into focus one of the overriding objectives of the programme,
namely that of integrating the development dimension into all areas of the negotiating agenda,
Members gave it the name of the Doha Development Agenda.
It is now less than two years since the negotiations got underway.  Two years of intensive
work and cooperative effort to strive for some progress across the wide range of topics and break the
key deadlocks along the way.  During that period, many proposals have been tabled and various
reports produced which all testify to the enormous amount of work accomplished to date.
This is not to say, however, that there is any room for complacency.  Much more could,
should and must be done.  Disturbingly too many key issues remain to be settled.  A number of
missed deadlines are of a particular concern, as it is a lack of headway in many areas.
The purpose of this Ministerial Conference, which takes  place at the halfway mark of the
Doha Round, is to review  the negotiating process so far.  But  it is not planned as just a mid-term
review.  We meet at Cancún to take  some  important decisions on how to channel the process
onwards.  To provide clear political guidance and impetus  for the  remaining period, while bearing
in mind the ultimate objective of finalizing the negotiations within the agreed limits, to which the
Czech Republic is fully committed.
Indeed, we are not here to  close the book.  However, to meet the January 2005 deadline and
not to run the risk of drifting into the sands, we must act now.  Success of the whole Doha RoundWT/MIN(03)ST/27
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largely depends on our ability to reach political breakthroughs at Cancún.  Even after these
breakthroughs have taken place, there will be a great deal of work that still lies ahead of us.  Any
delay at this particular juncture would cause a dangerous loss of momentum and could even put under
question the existing trading system.
Major substantive issues, which require political decision making, are well known.  For their
solutions to command general acceptance and respect, it is essential that they be guided by a sense of
realism and based on a true spirit of conciliation and understanding for each others positions and
concerns.
This is a commonly shared responsibility.  It follows that all Members have to contribute
according to their individual means and limits of economic development.  What is now at stake is thelevel of ambition as set by us when we met in Doha.  We have to be prepared to engage in the genuine
process of give-and-take, as well as to tackle blockages facing the negotiations on all fronts and in all
areas.  This is basically because of the widely shared perception that all elements of the ongoing
negotiations must move together.  Only such an approach can ensure a global and well-balanced
package and results beneficial to all.
A recently taken decision on the implementation of paragraph 6 of the Declaration on the
TRIPS Agreement and public health  validates that if the above ingredients are at hand the WTO can
deal efficiently with all issues confronting and rela ted to international trade, irrespective of their
sensitivities and complexities.  It is in this spirit that we have to tackle a long list of unsettledquestions contained in the documentation before the Ministerial Conference and that I should like to
say a few words about some of such questions.
Starting with the difficult issue of agriculture, Ministers' task is to give further directions for
the continuation of the reform process aimed at the establishment of a fair and market-orientedagricultural trading system.  My country is ready to negotiate towards such an objective.  However, in
pursuing it, any framework to be decided upon here in Cancún has to take fully into account the
different ways of farming across the world and interests of all Members.  Any new commitments will
have to be  made in an equitable way and balanced against non-trade concerns such as rural
development, environmental protection and food security.  Excessive demands going beyond the
limits of realism and undermining the fundamental architectural structure of the Agreement on
Agriculture will do the reform process a disservice.  They will also seriously compromise the generalsupport for the broad policy of fundamental changes in agriculture that the  Czech Republic has
adopted.
The emerging  non-agricultural market access package which is of paramount importance to
any country that seeks sustained growth does not look as promising as we  would like it to be.  In this
traditional area of the then GATT and today's WTO, Ministers have to adopt a credible framework
that will lay down the foundation for substantial im provement in market access for all Members.  To
achieve this objective, a single and non-linear harmonizing formula to reducing tariffs is needed.  This
formula has to be complemented by sectorial initiatives with comprehensive participation, not to
forget about the need to reduce or as appropriate eliminate non-tariff barriers.
In services, we welcome progress already achieved, both in market access and rule making.
To advance the ongoing negotiations further, new initial and improved offers have to be tabled.
In the area of rules, we are supportive of strong rules and disciplines to provide the necessary
transparency and predictability on the overall trading system.  We recall the importance of completion
of the negotiations on dispute settlement within the newly set deadline of May 2004.
On geographical indications, it is important that we do not let the opportunity of this
Ministerial pass without providing clear guidance for further negotiations on a legally bindingWT/MIN(03)ST/27
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multilateral system of registration and by recognizing that the extension of additional protection to
other products is an integral part of the ongoing negotiating process.
Similarly, much still remains to be accomplished if we are to benefit from synergies that exist
between an open trading system and protection of environment.  Failure to do so will compromise thisinstitution's ability to play a fuller role in the pursuit of the increased international policy coherence
and will be understood by the outside world as portent of failure to address the wider issues related to
the WTO.
The deadlock on the modalities for the Singapore Issues must be broken and negotiations
launched here at Cancún, as foreseen by the Doha Ministerial Declaration.  All four issues are a part
of a single undertaking and we stand ready to do all in the endeavour to achieve results satisfactory toall Members.
This brings me to a final comment;  the need to promote full participation of developing and
least developed countries in the ongoing negotiations and multilateral trading system in general.  To
enable these countries to reap the fruits of new market opportunities, greater attention has to be givento their  particular problems, interests and situations.
To conclude, I wish to reiterate once again that the Czech Republic is firmly committed to the
mission and objectives of the WTO.  In this regard, we stand ready to contribute, and very soon as a
new member of the European Union, to a final success of the Doha Development Round.
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