July 10, 2000
World business has taken governments of the leading industrial countries to task for becoming embroiled in high-profile trade disputes and said these were undermining the authority of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In a statement delivered to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) said the Group of Seven governments should instead exert leadership in giving fresh impetus to trade liberalization and the launch of a new round of multilateral trade negotiations.
ICC deeply regretted the lack of political will by G7 and other governments that had resulted in the "dramatic failure" of the Seattle ministerial conference of the WTO last November, the business statement said.
"ICC remains gravely concerned at the large number of high-profile trade disputes among members of the G7 that are currently being allowed to sour international trade relations further and that are weakening the authority and effectiveness of the WTO and its disputes settlement system."
G7 governments are involved in disputes either among themselves or with other countries over a broad range of products, among them aircraft, automobiles, bananas, computer equipment, hormone-treated beef, rum, steel and textiles.
An ICC business delegation headed by ICC President Adnan Kassar, Chairman of the Fransabank Group, Lebanon, handed the statement to Mr Mori as host of the Okinawa summit of the G7 plus Russia later this month. Russia is the only one of the group that is not a member of the WTO. ICC national committees in each of the other G8 nations conveyed the statement to their respective governments.
Addressing the original seven in particular, the statement said: "Despite the damaging setback at Seattle, world business continues to urge that the launch of a new broad-based trade round of multilateral trade negotiations under the aegis of the WTO must be a top priority on the international economic agenda."
ICC noted that a start had already been made with the launch of new negotiations on trade in services and agriculture, as mandated by the Uruguay Round, which led to the creation of the WTO in 1995. These negotiations should be advanced and expanded at an early date to cover a significantly broader trade agenda, the statement said.
"It is the responsibility of the powerful countries represented at Okinawa to give leadership and impetus to this task, and to communicate more effectively to their general publics the benefits of trade and investment liberalization ICC said.
The business organization, which has more than 7,000 member companies and business associations in 132 countries, recommended an ambitious agenda for a new trade round. The statement said that in a new trade round, governments should:
push forward the process of creating within the WTO high-standard multilateral rules to protect and liberalize the conditions for foreign investment; expand and improve commitments on trade in services reached during and since the Uruguay Round, including trade in basic telecommunications, financial services and the movement of natural persons; make a start in the WTO on liberalizing maritime transport, air cargo, and postal and express delivery services; speed up reduction of substantial protectionist barriers that impede and distort trade in agricultural products - barriers that are particularly damaging to the export capability of many developing countries; break down barriers to electronic commerce and make permanent the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions; prevent abusive resort to anti-dumping measures; develop comprehensive and effective multilateral rules to simplify and modernize trade procedures, and in particular customs procedures; and facilitate the integration of least-developed countries into the multilateral trading system.
The G8 summit on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa takes place on July 21-23. Participating heads of state and government represent Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States.
ICC statement on behalf of world business to the Heads of State and Government attending the Okinawa Summit
More Information on the World Trade Organization
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