This Second Session of the Ministerial Conference of the WTO is
taking place at a particularly significant time for the multilateral
trading system, when the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment is
being commemorated. On this occasion we pay tribute to the system's
important contribution over the past half-century to growth,
employment and stability by promoting the liberalization and expansion
of trade and providing a framework for the conduct of international
trade relations, in accordance with the objectives embodied in the
Preambles to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World
Trade Organization Agreement. We agree, however, that more remains to
be done to enable all the world's peoples to share fully and equitably
in these achievements.
We underline the crucial importance of the multilateral rule-based
trading system. We reaffirm the commitments and assessments we made at
Singapore, and we note that the work under existing agreements and
decisions has resulted in significant new steps forward since we last
met. In particular, we welcome the successful conclusion of the
negotiations on basic telecommunications and financial services and we
take note of the implementation of the Information Technology
Agreement. We renew our commitment to achieve progressive
liberalization of trade in goods and services.
The fiftieth anniversary comes at a time when the economies of a
number of WTO Members are experiencing difficulties as a result of
disturbances in financial markets. We take this opportunity to
underline that keeping all markets open must be a key element in a
durable solution to these difficulties. With this in mind, we reject
the use of any protectionist measures and agree to work together in
the WTO as in the IMF and the World Bank to improve the coherence of
international economic policy-making with a view to maximizing the
contribution that an open, rule-based trading system can make to
fostering stable growth for economies at all levels of development.
We recognize the importance of enhancing public understanding of
the benefits of the multilateral trading system in order to build
support for it and agree to work towards this end. In this context we
will consider how to improve the transparency of WTO operations. We
shall also continue to improve our efforts towards the objectives of
sustained economic growth and sustainable development.
We renew our commitment to ensuring that the benefits of the
multilateral trading system are extended as widely as possible. We
recognize the need for the system to make its own contribution in
response to the particular trade interests and development needs of
developing-country Members. We welcome the work already underway in
the Committee on Trade and Development for reviewing the application
of special provisions in the Multilateral Trade Agreements and related
Ministerial Decisions in favour of developing country Members, and in
particular the least-developed among them. We agree on the need for
effective implementation of these special provisions.
We remain deeply concerned over the marginalization of
least-developed countries and certain small economies, and recognize
the urgent need to address this issue which has been compounded by the
chronic foreign debt problem facing many of them. In this context we
welcome the initiatives taken by the WTO in cooperation with other
agencies to implement in an integrated manner the Plan of Action for
the least-developed countries which we agreed at Singapore, especially
through the High-Level Meeting on Least-Developed Countries held in
Geneva in October 1997. We also welcome the report of the
Director-General on the follow-up of this initiative, to which we
attach great importance. We commit ourselves to continue to improve
market access conditions for products exported by the least-developed
countries on as broad and liberal a basis as possible. We urge Members
to implement the market-access commitments that they have undertaken
at the High-Level Meeting.
We welcome the WTO Members who have joined since we met in
Singapore: Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Niger and
Panama. We welcome the progress made with 31 applicants currently
negotiating their accession and renew our resolution to ensure that
the accession processes proceed as rapidly as possible. We recall that
accession to the WTO requires full respect of WTO rules and
disciplines as well as meaningful market access commitments on the
part of acceding candidates.
Full and faithful implementation of the WTO Agreement and
Ministerial Decisions is imperative for the credibility of the
multilateral trading system and indispensable for maintaining the
momentum for expanding global trade, fostering job creation and
raising standards of living in all parts of the world. When we meet at
the Third Session we shall further pursue our evaluation of the
implementation of individual agreements and the realization of their
objectives. Such evaluation would cover, inter alia, the problems
encountered in implementation and the consequent impact on the trade
and development prospects of Members. We reaffirm our commitment to
respect the existing schedules for reviews, negotiations and other
work to which we have already agreed.
We recall that the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization states that the WTO shall provide the forum for
negotiations among its Members concerning their multilateral trade
relations in matters dealt with under the agreements in the Annexes to
the Agreement, and that it may also provide a forum for further
negotiations among its Members concerning their multilateral trade
relations, and a framework for the implementation of the results of
such negotiations, as may be decided by the Ministerial Conference. In
the light of paragraphs 1-8 above, we decide that a process will be
established under the direction of the General Council to ensure full
and faithful implementation of existing agreements, and to prepare for
the Third Session of the Ministerial Conference. This process shall
enable the General Council to submit recommendations regarding the
WTO's work programme, including further liberalization sufficiently
broad-based to respond to the range of interests and concerns of all
Members, within the WTO framework, that will enable us to take
decisions at the Third Session of the Ministerial Conference. In this
regard, the General Council will meet in special session in September
1998 and periodically thereafter to ensure full and timely completion
of its work, fully respecting the principle of decision-making by
consensus. The General Council's work programme shall encompass the
following:
recommendations concerning:
the issues, including those brought forward by Members, relating
to implementation of existing agreements and decisions;
the negotiations already mandated at Marrakesh, to ensure that
such negotiations begin on schedule;
future work already provided for under other existing agreements
and decisions taken at Marrakesh;
recommendations concerning other possible future work on the basis
of the work programme initiated at Singapore;
recommendations on the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on
Least-Developed Countries;
recommendations arising from consideration of other matters
proposed and agreed to by Members concerning their multilateral trade
relations.
The General Council will also submit to the Third Session of the
Ministerial Conference, on the basis of consensus, recommendations for
decision concerning the further organization and management of the
work programme arising from the above, including the scope, structure
and time-frames, that will ensure that the work programme is begun and
concluded expeditiously.
The above work programme shall be aimed at achieving overall
balance of interests of all Members.