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U.S. Remarks delivered by
The U.S. is committed to a successful launch at the Doha Ministerial of a new Round that will offer benefits to all countries. We should have no illusion about the tremendous stakes involved in our efforts to launch a new Round in November. Our countries and this institution need to reverse the dismal message on trade that came from the Seattle Ministerial. The current global economic slowdown makes it even more important that we press forward. U.S. also is committed to Chairman Harbinson's process. Agree that the first questions in Harbinson's note for this meeting provide the correct focus for us: how can we best move to common ground among delegations' positions? How can we accommodate delegations' positions in outcomes that are acceptable to all? Welcome the invitation to have capitals become more involved in preparations. With fewer than 20 weeks remaining until Doha, intensive and continuous involvement of capitals is critical to our success. Changed International Environment More Favorable to a Launch Discussions in capitals reflect the realization that the WTO can't afford to fail a second time at Doha. The United States will do its part to ensure a successful launch. We are hopeful that such determination will be matched by other trading partners. President Bush and Ambassador Zoellick have established a priority focus at home on the importance of the trade agenda as part of the President's overall economic program. In parallel with intensified concentration on the trade agenda at home, we have been reaching out to our trading partners in Asia, in Latin America, and in Europe in an effort to identify the essential elements necessary to secure a launch. Both the OECD Ministerial and the APEC Ministerial provided opportunities to consult with our trading partners on the need for and content of a new Round. We will continue our consultations with those countries and will reach out to other trading partners to expand our network of consultations. I look forward to continuing our consultations today and tomorrow here in Geneva. In particular, we have intensified our consultations with the European Commission, through the personal engagement and involvement of Commissioner Lamy and Ambassador Zoellick. While we may have started from different perspectives, the fundamental point is this: we share the common strategic objective of launching a Round at Doha. This effort has encouraged both of us to revisit, review and reconsider our positions, and to understand more fully what is being sought by the other party. We are continuing this work in pursuit of our common strategic objective. Obviously, U.S. - EU engagement is an important element in helping to forge a compromise, but it is not enough, and we do not presume that we can make decisions for the rest of our partners in the WTO. That's why we are committed to working with you, Mr. Chairman, and with our other partners to find a way forward that works for all WTO Members. Elements for an Agenda at Doha To launch such a Round, we must have a balanced agenda, in the sense that it allows countries with different interests to pursue their priorities in the negotiations. Of course, we all will have to convince our negotiating partners of the merits of our substantive positions in the negotiations themselves and in the other work of the WTO. For now, however, our aim should be to develop jointly an agenda for negotiation and other work that Ministers can adopt at Doha. The U.S. comes to this meeting prepared to work pragmatically with other countries to identify the elements of such an agenda. If we avoid the temptation of pre-negotiating results in the preparations, we should be able to find a balanced agenda that meets all our needs. It seems to us that a balanced agenda, i.e., one that could attract widespread support, would need to address, in one way or another, the following areas: Ambitious negotiating mandates for the built-in agenda items of agriculture and services; Negotiations for market access in non-agricultural products; Both immediate and continuing efforts on implementation issues of concern to many developing countries; we recognize the high degree of importance of this subject and are committed to addressing it in the coming weeks and at the Ministerial; Appropriate means to address several issues on which substantial work has been done, including trade facilitation, transparency in government procurement, investment, and competition policy. Views vary on how to address these issues. For our part, we are open to exploring how best to treat these topics in the context of launching the Round; Further development of the dispute settlement understanding in light of experience to date and the review that was initiated, with particular attention to transparency in proceedings; and Treatment of the intersection of trade and environment issues. On the one hand, we should reassure our citizens that trade liberalization is not in conflict with protection of the environment. On the other hand, we must ensure that environmental concerns are not appropriated for protectionist purposes. We also should pursue win-win initiatives addressing the environment in areas such as environmental goods and services, agricultural subsidies, and fisheries; Whatever the decisions of ministers at Doha, any mandates should give countries confidence that they understand the dimensions and degree of ambition for each of the areas addressed; and The Doha Declaration also should direct active ongoing work in various committees of the WTO, including the Committee on Trade and the Environment, the Committee on Trade and Development, and the Councils and Committees established to implement the WTO's many Agreements. These committees are the appropriate fora for developing greater understanding of issues. They offer an important venue for preparing and facilitating negotiations. Ministers at Doha will need to give further direction on how the WTO's program of work can support a new round in areas, for example, such as electronic commerce. Institutional Reform and Coherence: Ministers will want to be attentive to broader areas of concern, notably, the relationship of trade and social development, the challenges brought to the trading system as a result of the globalization debate, the issue of transparency and outreach to the public, and the WTO's cooperation with other international institutions. On transparency, we should address both internal transparency in the operations of the WTO and external transparency to enhance the credibility of the WTO in the eyes of public opinion. WTO must make a contribution to the debate underway on globalization, which includes the social dimensions of globalization. Ministers should give direction to the WTO Secretariat in terms of its participation in work in other fora, in particular the processes underway in the ILO and the Bretton Woods institutions. We must ensure that we are informed by such work here in the WTO. With respect to capacity building, we stand ready to work with other Members to address these concerns. We recognize the critical importance of focused, well-defined trade-related capacity building, particularly for the less advanced Members. We are prepared, in concert with the other WTO members and international institutions, to develop and implement effective means to meet these needs. In fact, Ambassador Zoellick already has met with President Wolfenson of the World Bank, President Iglesias of the Inter- American Development Bank, and recently confirmed U.S. AID Administrator Natsios to promote heightened efforts by these institutions in providing trade-related capacity building assistance to developing countries. This is by no means an exhaustive list of elements for Doha. It is simply an effort at a macro level to identify the principal elements of a balanced package for adoption at Doha. To find a way forward, the United States reiterates our readiness to stretch, to understand what the other countries really need to get started and to accommodate interests where we can, without undermining our fundamental interests. Responses to Chairman Harbinson's Questions Mr. Chairman, you also sought views on how we should proceed in organizing decisions and declarations for Ministers at Doha. There is much in the organization of the last round that could help us in constructing a framework for decisions at Doha. If we look back at Punta del Este, the declaration that launched the Uruguay Round and the subsequent decisions, we had fairly "simple" mandates which enabled negotiations to begin, and provisions to establish negotiating plans and deadlines. We need to specify what is necessary to begin negotiations, while remaining mindful of the sensitivities about pre-negotiation that need to be taken into account. As I already indicated, in areas like agriculture and services where important groundwork has been done as part of the built-in agenda, we should be more ambitious, and should set out more detailed deadlines. There appears to be an emerging consensus that any new round should proceed as a "single undertaking",that is, the results of the negotiations should be applicable to all members, and conclude at the same time. The Declaration of Punta el Este did, however, provide for results to be implemented provisionally (which included some important changes to dispute settlement at the mid-term review in 1988), which could be useful again. Based on discussions to date, it seems to us that our working assumption should be that we are aiming for a single undertaking. If that turns out not to be the case, we will have to make adjustments along the way. Punta Plus Model But, we also recognize that Punta del Este doesn't give us all the guidance we need. I would highlight three important differences from the previous launch that we should factor into our preparations. First, we now have the benefit of the WTO, which is
an institution that allows for on-going negotiations and regular meetings
at ministerial level to consider, adjust and expand the WTO's program
of work and negotiation. Second, we are sympathetic to the arguments of some partners that any new areas to be included in negotiations or in a forward work program, of any kind, require greater precision in terms of aims and objectives, and what will be expected of them. Third, we learned the hard way that some of the agreements we negotiate these days are complicated and difficult to implement. For some of our partners, we need to do more to have concurrent technical assistance and capacity building so they can participate more effectively in the process. Conclusion I started by saying that the WTO can't afford to fail a second time. We are cautiously optimistic that we will succeed in launching a Round at Doha. We believe that there is a widespread readiness to identify and follow the path of convergence. The United States is actively searching for that path. Another reason for our cautious optimism is that we see an emerging consensus on the importance that countries at various levels of development attach to further trade liberalization and adherence to WTO rules. China, with its accession near completion, has become a strong advocate for a new round. This was particularly evident at the recent APEC meetings in Shanghai, where China's leaders emphasized the importance of a new Round for China's reform efforts. Certainly this should give additional momentum to our launch efforts. A new Round also is important for developing countries in Asia and Latin America to lock in recent economic reforms and to contribute to strengthened democracy and the rule of law. At the Summit of the Americas, this point was made eloquently by President Fox of Mexico, President Flores in El Salvador, President Pastrana of Colombia, and President Lagos of Chile, among others. Later this week Members will convene for another meeting on Russia's WTO accession. Without question, Russia's leaders see these negotiations as essential to a broader economic reform program. There also appears to be an emerging consensus on many issues for negotiation, and a readiness to see what can constitute a balanced agenda, while recognizing that we all have sensitivities that need to be respected. In short, the elements of a balanced package for a launch appear to be within reach. We are prepared to work with all of the members of the WTO to further shape the elements for eventual decisions at Doha. However, we do not have much time. Our Ministers expect progress. As we deal with the technical details, we must maintain our focus on what is at stake for the WTO, the international trading system, and economic growth and development. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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