Basel, 20 September 2002 The General Assembly of the Swiss Bankers
Association
“From Doha to Cancun and beyond”
I should like to start by thanking you for inviting me to your General Assembly. It is indeed a pleasure for me to speak to you, especially as a former banker, I have a close interest in the financial world. Today, however, I will speak not about finance but trade.
The WTO is now about far more than import export regulation and other trade rules governing merchandise trade. It has become broader and more far-reaching. Expansion of trade rules in the WTO into new areas has made the multilateral trading system directly relevant to almost all aspects of economic policy-making. The Services Agreement, for instance, relates to a wide range of policies, including investment, movement of persons as well as covering the whole range of services sectors; from telecommunications to financial services to transportation, distribution, energy and professional services. This gives the WTO a strategic position both in terms of the international economic and the domestic policy agenda of each country.
I know that I do not need to tell a room of bankers about the importance of open markets or the need for rules to allow markets to function predictably and efficiently. I will therefore focus my remarks instead on our most urgent priority - bringing the current Round of trade negotiations, the Doha Development Agenda, to a timely and successful conclusion.
Let me start by explaining how this goal will be supported by the “four pillars” that I intend to strengthen during my tenure as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
My first pillar is the legal framework which binds the multilateral trading system together. The WTO is the only international organization dealing with multilateral rules of trade between countries. These rules ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. I intend to ensure that the Secretariat continues to be as helpful as possible to WTO Members to use this legal framework to their best mutual advantage.
My second pillar is to assist developing and least developed countries through technical assistance and capacity building to be better equipped to participate in the multilateral trading system. The WTO has taken on an unprecedented level of commitment in providing technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries. It is one of my priorities to ensure that our technical assistance and capacity building activities are effective, well targeted and coordinated with other agencies to get the best results.
As for my third pillar, I will seek to promote greater coherence in international economic policy-making. The reality of globalization is an increasingly interdependent world. The WTO cannot possibly achieve its goals working alone. The WTO, in keeping with its mandate, has to work closely along with other international agencies.
Lastly but most importantly, I intend to strengthen the WTO as an institution, so as to be able to serve its membership even better. My approach as Director-General will be equitable, balanced and inclusive. And I will support and encourage the work of Members in every way and at every level I can.
As you may know, at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha last November, WTO Members launched a comprehensive round of trade negotiations - the Doha Development Agenda. The deadline for completing these negotiations is 1 January 2005. This time next year, Trade Ministers will meet for their Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico to take stock of progress and take key decisions about the final phase of negotiations.
It is not a great deal of time. Doha was a beginning. Our challenge is to ensure that this beginning fulfils its promise. And it is a very bountiful promise indeed. The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects 2002, for instance, estimates that abolishing all trade barriers could boost global income over a ten year period by US$2.8 trillion.
The agenda for the Doha negotiations is extensive. It covers Agriculture, Services, Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, WTO Rules, Regional Trade Agreements, Dispute Settlement, and Trade and Environment.
The negotiating agenda also covers a range of “new issues” which were among the most heavily negotiated subjects at Doha; these include multilateral rules for Investment, Competition Policy, Transparency in Government Procurement and Trade Facilitation. In each of these areas, Members are undertaking a preliminary period of clarification. We must ensure that all countries have an informed basis at the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Canc
“From Doha to Cancun and beyond”
I should like to start by thanking you for inviting me to your General Assembly. It is indeed a pleasure for me to speak to you, especially as a former banker, I have a close interest in the financial world. Today, however, I will speak not about finance but trade.
The WTO is now about far more than import export regulation and other trade rules governing merchandise trade. It has become broader and more far-reaching. Expansion of trade rules in the WTO into new areas has made the multilateral trading system directly relevant to almost all aspects of economic policy-making. The Services Agreement, for instance, relates to a wide range of policies, including investment, movement of persons as well as covering the whole range of services sectors; from telecommunications to financial services to transportation, distribution, energy and professional services. This gives the WTO a strategic position both in terms of the international economic and the domestic policy agenda of each country.
I know that I do not need to tell a room of bankers about the importance of open markets or the need for rules to allow markets to function predictably and efficiently. I will therefore focus my remarks instead on our most urgent priority - bringing the current Round of trade negotiations, the Doha Development Agenda, to a timely and successful conclusion.
Let me start by explaining how this goal will be supported by the “four pillars” that I intend to strengthen during my tenure as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
My first pillar is the legal framework which binds the multilateral trading system together. The WTO is the only international organization dealing with multilateral rules of trade between countries. These rules ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. I intend to ensure that the Secretariat continues to be as helpful as possible to WTO Members to use this legal framework to their best mutual advantage.
My second pillar is to assist developing and least developed countries through technical assistance and capacity building to be better equipped to participate in the multilateral trading system. The WTO has taken on an unprecedented level of commitment in providing technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries. It is one of my priorities to ensure that our technical assistance and capacity building activities are effective, well targeted and coordinated with other agencies to get the best results.
As for my third pillar, I will seek to promote greater coherence in international economic policy-making. The reality of globalization is an increasingly interdependent world. The WTO cannot possibly achieve its goals working alone. The WTO, in keeping with its mandate, has to work closely along with other international agencies.
Lastly but most importantly, I intend to strengthen the WTO as an institution, so as to be able to serve its membership even better. My approach as Director-General will be equitable, balanced and inclusive. And I will support and encourage the work of Members in every way and at every level I can.
As you may know, at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha last November, WTO Members launched a comprehensive round of trade negotiations - the Doha Development Agenda. The deadline for completing these negotiations is 1 January 2005. This time next year, Trade Ministers will meet for their Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico to take stock of progress and take key decisions about the final phase of negotiations.
It is not a great deal of time. Doha was a beginning. Our challenge is to ensure that this beginning fulfils its promise. And it is a very bountiful promise indeed. The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects 2002, for instance, estimates that abolishing all trade barriers could boost global income over a ten year period by US$2.8 trillion.
The agenda for the Doha negotiations is extensive. It covers Agriculture, Services, Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, WTO Rules, Regional Trade Agreements, Dispute Settlement, and Trade and Environment.
The negotiating agenda also covers a range of “new issues” which were among the most heavily negotiated subjects at Doha; these include multilateral rules for Investment, Competition Policy, Transparency in Government Procurement and Trade Facilitation. In each of these areas, Members are undertaking a preliminary period of clarification. We must ensure that all countries have an informed basis at the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Canc
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