Bangkok Post
WTO chief says poor nations will benefit Post Reporters
"Globalisation is not an ideology, not a political theory, but economic evolution." - Mike Moore WTO director-general
Promoting trade liberalisation and globalisation is in the best interests of developing countries, says Mike Moore, director-general of the World Trade Organisation. The WTO was working towards a package of measures to assist least developed countries, he told the Bangkok Post. Proposed measures include duty-free access for exports and increased technical assistance to allow them to participate in global trade. The proposals already had support from a number of developed countries. But Mr Moore said free trade was not sufficient alone, with even full access leading to only marginal improvements for some countries. "Certainly trade helps, but it's not the sole answer, not if a country has a lack of infrastructure, of ports, customs procedures, transport, or faces civil war."Mr Moore plans to hold talks with several trade and development officials over the course of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which opens today. One key goal will be rebuilding confidence in the international trade body following the collapse of ministerial talks in December in Seattle. Thousands of members of non-government organisations protested against the WTO and its perceived responsibility for the ills of globalisation and free trade. Mr Moore rejected criticism the WTO was a tool of the West and multinationals. "That's a slogan. It looks good on a t-shirt," he said. "People say that the WTO should be abolished, and that things will improve. That's like saying that if you abolished a hospital, there would be no more sick people. "Globalisation is not an ideology, not a political theory, but economic evolution. One of the problems of the WTO is that every excess of capitalism, every spill of toxic waste, every tree that is cut, we are blamed for."Mr Moore said the WTO was ultimately responsible to its 135 members. "The most valid expression of civil society are the parliaments and the congresses. And we're accountable to them."The benefits offered to developing nations, most of whose economies were heavily focused on agriculture, was enormous. "We've been exchanging food longer than anything else except arrows or rocks," Mr Moore said. "It's developing countries more than anyone who want to see market openings, who have a competitive advantage here." He said he was heartened by the significant process made by officials over the past several weeks, including an agreement earlier this month to press forward on talks over agriculture and services. Proposals were also being studied on how to assist poorer nations to participate in the WTO. "Thirty countries can't afford representation at the WTO. We have appalling problems with capacity building which we have to address," Mr Moore said. Other priorities included looking at the challenges encountered by countries in implementing terms of the Uruguay round, concluded six years ago. The WTO was also looking at ways of strengthening its internal structure and transparency as it continued to grow. Mr Moore admitted that the WTO was not fully equipped to deal with the increased complexity surrounding trade issues from new technological developments, such as e-commerce. Debate was also unresolved over the organisation's future role in areas such as labour or environmental issues. But Mr Moore said one point which would remain constant was the WTO's focus on building consensus in decisions, which he described as both the institution's "genius and its pitfall". "The truth of Seattle was that we were too far apart on matters of substance," he said. "Unless we're close, the ministers won't come together again. The protesters didn't stop us. We were just too far apart."A former prime minister of New Zealand, Mr Moore was appointed WTO director-general last September. Under a compromise agreement, Mr Moore will step down halfway through the normal term in 2002, and hand over to Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi.:
