WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(98)/ST/102
20 May 1998
(98-2119)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18 and 20 May 1998Original:  English
SWEDEN
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mr. Leif Pagrotsky,
Minister for Trade
Out of the destruction of World War II rose a vision of increased co-operation and openness
between the Nations of the World.  This was the basis for the creation of the United Nations, for theinternational financial institutions and for a framework for rule-based, non-discriminatory and
progressively freer trade, the GATT.
The aims for this cooperation were high:  p eace and security, but also raising worldwide
standards of living, ensuring full employment and a large and steady growth of real income.
For 50 years now, growth has to a very large extent been propelled by increased trade.
Inequalities and poverty are still unacceptably widespread, but with continued liberalization and
openness, growth, the necessary precondition for sustainable wealth and social progress can continue.
We are therefore committed to keeping markets open, to resisting all protectionist pressures and to
continuing the process of multilateral liberalization for the benefit of developed and developingcountries alike.
The significance of the Uruguay Round for th e multilateral trading system can hardly be
overestimated.  The negotiated result and the formation of the WTO was a major achievement.  The
Singapore Ministerial Declaration provided us with a work programme complementary to theUruguay Round Agreements.
Since our meeting in Singapore, we have successfully concluded three important agreements,
on Basic Telecom Services, on the ITA and on Financial Services.
Sweden gives high priority to the implementa tion by all countries of the results from the
Uruguay Round and subsequent agreements.  The implementation process is the key to success for the
WTO now and in how successful WTO is and will be in the future.
One example is the TRIPS Agreement, which is of fundamental importance for the
development of trade and the transfer of technology.  Here, as well as in other parts of the SingleUndertaking from Marrakesh there are implementation hurdles that must be overcome.  Full
implementation of the TRIPS Agreement should be made in accordance with the agreed timetables,and sooner where possible.
The Organization and Member States should be ready to assist developing country Members,
in particular the least-developed among them, to effectively implement all the WTO Agreements.
There may be a need to review the present system of technical assistance, and also to further develop
cooperation between the relevant organizations in this field, for instance UNCTAD and ITC.  We alsoWT/MIN(98)/ST/102
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renew our commitment to an effective follow up to the 1997 High-Level Meeting on the Least
Developed Countries, and call on our trading partners  to follow the lead of the EU, and give increased
market access to the LLDCs.  Here, I agree with Prime Minister Blair: we should abolish all tariffs for
the least-developed countries at once.
Concerns about trade and environment are omnipresent today.  We have to envisage new
initiatives to bridge the gaps and build consensus among WTO Members on how to make the tradeand environment policies mutually supportive in the WTO framework.
On trade and labour standards, we need to live up to our commitment in the Singapore
Ministerial Declaration.  Sweden reaffirms its strong support for the conclusion in the ILO of a
declaration and an effective follow up mechanism on core labour standards this coming June, but
would also like to see more attention being paid  to the cooperation between the WTO and the ILO
secretariats.  A seminar addressing possible forms for this cooperation, thereby proceeding from
declaration to active support for the important work of the ILO, would be welcome.
 Globalization has among other things demonstrated that the issue of core labour standards is
related to trade policy, and the WTO needs to discuss this matter.
Our aim for the future should be comprehensive negotiations to continue the process towards
openness and rule-based free trade.
The WTO's fundamental role is to open markets, to substantially reduce barriers to trade and
to eliminate discriminatory treatment in international commerce.  Over the past 50 years we havecome far in this endeavour, but it remains as important as ever to continue market openings
facilitating sustainable growth and raised standards of living.  As we now take the step into the next
millennium we must stay the course to achieve increased market access, across the board, for
developing and developed countries alike, in industrial goods, in agriculture and in services.
Industrial tariffs are still an impediment to trade and to growth, they shelter inefficient
production, delay structural adjustment and increase costs for production and for consumers.  Their
levying involves a lot of red tape for business in many countries.
Overall, industrial tariffs have reached low levels, and many countries, developed and
developing alike, participate in preferential agreements where they have, or will have, zero tarifflevels on industrial goods.  Industrial tariffs are gradually becoming an instrument of the century we
are now leaving behind us, just as tariffs within countries, around cities and towns, belong to previous
centuries.  It is now time to set the goal for abolishing industrial tariffs altogether, on a multilateral,
non-discriminatory basis.
Increased market access also means opening up ma rkets that are of interest to the developing
countries.  Let us be honest, putting an end to the marginalization in the world economy of the
developing countries, necessitates getting rid of barriers to trade in agriculture and textiles.
Open markets and open procedures are key items on our future agenda.  Red tape must be
tackled through a vigorous programme to for multilateral trade facilitation.  We must also set oursights high in the ongoing work on increased transparency in government procurement.  Increased
openness and transparency can contribute towards preventing inefficiencies and trade distorting
corruption in international trade.
Electronic commerce is a new and rapidly growing phenomenon in international trade, and it
clearly belongs to the future.  In this sphere, commerce is open today, unhindered and free fromWT/MIN(98)/ST/102
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custom duties and tariffs.  Our task as Governments is to see to that this openness is retained for the
future, and that trade can take place under predictable and safe circumstances.  As Ministers, we
should express ourselves clearly in favour of free and open electronic commerce and be ready to
develop the rules of the trading system, so that they remain relevant for the future.
International economic operators trade to invest and invest to trade, and rules on investment
play an important role in further developing trade.  Investment is therefore another area directly linkedto the question of market access.  The TRIMs Agreement states that we shall look into this area again
and exploratory work is already under way as decided at Singapore.  There is a need to develop these
discussions further in a global setting, where all countries can participate in the process of developing
common rules.
It is increasingly evident that free trade can not be carried further from vision to reality
without the broad support of the general public.  This is becoming ever more important as the ambit of
trade policy extends into areas traditionally regarded as domestic policy concerns, be it environment,health and safety concerns, competition policies or the like.  For this, we as politicians need to be
clear and frank in explaining why open markets matter.
Transparency needs to be taken on board also in our future work in the WTO.  We need to
develop openness as regards documentation and th e Organization's contacts with representatives of
industry, trade unions, consumers, environment or ganizations etc. need to be strengthened.
But let us be clear, transparency begins at home.  The democratic process of elected
government cannot be substituted on the intergovernmental international level.
In summing up, new comprehensive negotiations should start because:
- We have a commitment from the Uruguay Round within the built-in agenda;
- we need a political platform to achieve trade-offs between our different objectives;- we have to make sure that the multilateral process keeps pace with rapidly expanding
regional trade integration;
- we have to resist protectionist measures which are a threat to overall prosperity;
- we must put an end to the marginalization in the world economy of the developing
countries;
- let the 1998 WTO Ministerial in Geneva be the springboard for the launching in 1999
of new comprehensive trade negotiations.
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