WORLD TRADE WT/FIFTY/H/ST/16
19May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-2099)
50THANNIVERSARY Original: English/
19May1998 French
CANADA
Statement Circulated byH.E. Mr.JeanChretien,
Prime Minister
Lastweekend, when theleaders ofeightmajor industrialized nations, together withthePresident
oftheEuropean Commission (EC), mettoexchange views onarange ofglobal issues, wetookspecial
noteofthe50thAnniversary commemoration thisweekoftheestablishment oftheworld trading system.
While Ideeply regret thattheheavy schedule ofmyEuropean tripdoesnotpermit metoinclude
astopinGeneva, Iamwithyouinspirit asyoucelebrate thismomentous anniversary. Iamconvinced
thatitisimportant fortheworld 'sleaders tobeengaged withthework oftheinternational trading
system, particularly onthismilestone anniversary, andtolendtheirsupport insetting thedirection
andpurpose oftheWorld Trade Organization (WTO).
Andpermit metoextend mycompliments andcongratulations totheDirector-General,
Renato Ruggiero, fortheleadership anddedication which hehasdisplayed inworking onbehalf of
allofusatthehelm oftheWTO.
Inreflecting onthesignificance ofthisanniversary, Iamreminded ofthevision ourforebears
expressed intheCharter oftheUnited Nations tosavesucceeding generations from thescourge of
war,toreaffirm faithinfundamental human rights, toestablish conditions forjustice andrespect for
theobligations ofinternational law,andtopromote social progress andbetter standards oflife.
Inestablishing theBretton Woods institutions, pastleaders havegiven ustheinternational
machinery forthesocial andeconomic advancement ofallpeoples.
Iseeit,therefore, asparticularly fitting thatthetrading system 'sroots arefound inthePalais
desNations, anedifice dedicated tothebuilding ofpeace, respect forhuman rights, economic prosperity
andtheenhancement ofrelations between nations. Thereinforcement ofthese ideals remains the
challenge fortoday'sleaders.
Thepurpose ofthisweek'smeeting istwofold:
- Toacknowledge thecontribution made overtheyears bytherules-based trading system
toincreasing thestandard ofliving ofourcitizens; and
- toexpress ourcommitment toastronger WTO asthecentrepiece ofthistrading system.
WeCanadians havebenefited substantially from trade.WT/FIFTY/H/ST/16
Page2
Canada wasanoriginal signatory totheGATT in1947 andtotheWTO in1994. Weare
partners inthemostcomprehensive freetradeagreement evernegotiated, together withtheUnited States
andMexico. Inthepastfewyears, wehaveconcluded freetrade agreements withIsrael andChile.
Thecombined results oftheseefforts havebeenimpressive. Since 1950, Canada 'sexports andimports
haveincreased almost 80-fold.
Today,
- OneCanadian jobinthree istiedtotrade;
- 40percentofourGDP isderived from exports; and
- ourannual exports ofgoods andservices continue toreach newrecord levels.
Atthetimewhen theGATT wasnegotiated, notmorethan7percentofglobal economic activity
wasbased ontrade. Today, itaccounts formore than22percentofamuch larger world economy,
andmuch more forcountries suchasCanada.
Thistripling oftheroleoftrade tellsustwothings: first,nations arebecoming increasingly
interdependent intheireconomic relations. Second, ourwork hereisnotfinished. There isstillroom
forgrowth.
Thisinterdependence ofnations enhances ourprospects forsustainable development. Butit
alsomeans wehavecollective ownership ofthetrading system andresponsibility forit.Thishasbeen
brought home toussharply overthepastyearbytheeconomic developments inAsia. While theburden
ofthese events willweigh mostheavily onthecitizens ofourAsian partners, weareallaffected by
theiroccurrence.
Thatiswhy, inBirmingham, wecalled onallnations oftheworld toresolve tokeeptheir
markets open. Thisrequires astrong commitment tothemultilateral trading system.
Clearly, theWTO hasnotstood still. Since ourtradeministers signed theAgreement creating
itin1994, theWTO hasachieved additional impressive results inliberalizing trade ininformation
technologyproducts,telecommunicationsservicesandfinancialservices.Andintheworldoftomorrow,
wewillneedthekindofleadership thathasbrought ustheaccomplishments oftoday. Iwishtoassure
youthatCanada intends toplayitspart.
MyGovernment hasalsonotstood still. InCanada, wearecontinuing topursue opportunities
toliberalize trade andinvestment.
Onaregional basis, weareactive partners with33other countries inlaunching thenegotiation
ofaFreeTrade AreaoftheAmericas (FTAA); weareengaged involuntary efforts withthe17other
members ofAPEC (theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) toliberalize trade; lastweek in
London, weagreed withourEuropean Union (EU) friends toprepare options andrecommendations
toimprove broad cross-Atlantic links; andnextweek wewillmeetwiththecountries ofEFTA (the
European FreeTrade Association) toexplore thescope ofafreetrade agreement. Wearealso
negotiating economic cooperation agreements withcountries inAfrica.
Most important, wehavebeenworking inGeneva withother trading partners, largeandsmall,
toensurethatpastagreementsarefullyimplementedandthatregionalarrangementsfosterastrengthening
oftheWTO. Canada seesacompatibility andcomplementarity ofregional trade initiatives withthe
work oftheWTO. Aswehaveseen, theonereinforces anddefines theother.WT/FIFTY/H/ST/16
Page3
Iviewourtaskforthefuture asharnessing these efforts intoaconsolidated setofglobal rules
under theWTO -rules thatmusthavemore universal application. Thiswillnotbeaneasytaskbut
itisworth theeffort.
Aswework tostrengthen theWTO andlooktotrade toprovide more world growth, wewill
wanttoensure thatboththeexpectations andconcerns ofourcitizens aremet.
Canadians, likeothers, recognize thattheinternational trading system isoneofthepillars of
global development, cooperation, peace andinternational security -thelegacies ofthePalais desNations.
ButCanadians, liketheirfellow citizens inother countries, alsohavelegitimate anxieties about
theeffect ontheirlivesofthequick-paced globalization oftheworld economy andrapidly expanding
technological change. Concerns about sovereignty, theintegrity ofsocial policies, protecting the
environment, maintaining national identity andbetter sharing ofthebenefits oftraderesonate asmuch
inCanada aselsewhere.
Inmyview, these concerns mustbeaddressed. Oneofthemajor challenges facing theglobal
trading system willbetoensure wider public participation inaconsultative process tomake our
endeavours more understandable anddigestible. Aswemove forward withouragenda, theWTO has
animportantroletoplayindevelopingincreasedconfidenceandsupportforitsworkamongourdifferent
global constituencies.
Despite theanxieties about theeffects ofglobalization, Iamconvinced thatamore integrated
andengaged world isfarbetter thantheworld ofthe1940s, which ledtotheestablishment ofthe
UNCharter andtheBretton Woods institutions. Itisfarbetter thantheoldColdWarworld ofisolation
andbelligerence, where wewerepointing missiles ateachother. Nowwearepointing trademissions
andreaping thebenefits ofeconomic cooperation.
MyGovernment iscommitted toconsulting withCanadians todefine ournational priorities
forthetrading system. Welookforward tosharing ourperspectives withMembers oftheWTO as
wefacethetrade policy challenges ofthenextcentury.
Trade andinvestment liberalization isincreasingly anecessity rather thananoption inthis
interdependent world. Butthisispossible onlywiththesupport ofourpeople andwitheconomic,
social andcultural policies thatgarner thissupport.
Canada 'sgoal-likethatofmany ofyouattending thiscelebration today -willbetocontinue
toharness theenergy ofliberalization andglobal economic integration forourcollective benefit.
Thismeans embracing change andopenness while preserving whatmakes usdistinct. Itmeans
providing therightgovernment policies andexercising sovereignty insupport ofopenmarkets. And
itmeans ensuring thatthebenefits oftrade aremore equally distributed -among nations andamong
ourpeoples -inkeeping withthevisions ofourforebears.
In50years, wehavecome alongway. Butthere ismore tobedone.
__________