Agence France Presse | September 1, 1999
GENEVA - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Mike Moore took up his post Wednesday at the head of the World Trade Organization, preparing to steer it into the Millennium Round of world trade negotiations.
Moore, 50, a former trade unionist and committed left-winger, said as he entered the WTO building that he would strive for "balanced results" in upcoming trade talks.
"The smaller guys who have felt locked out will have a chance to engage and benefit from a system," he pledged.
He was expected to focus the WTO spotlight on how to spread the wealth to developing nations which have increasingly demanded a share in the strong economic growth and prosperity of recent years.
A man whose job history included stints as a construction worker, a printer, and a social worker, Moore left school at age 15 and entered politics early, becoming New Zealand's youngest-ever MP in 1972.
But for a politician, he has in the past had an unfortunate way with words, speaking from the heart, often emotionally and at times illogically.
Moore says he is motivated by a desire to fight injustice. "I get incoherent with anger sometimes and it shows, unfortunately ...," he has said.
Moore was scheduled to remain at the WTO helm for three years and then hand over to Thai Deputy Premier Supachai Panitchpaki, 52, under an unprecedented accord forged to peserve the WTO's vaunted process of consensus.
Each had lobbied hard for the job - at times acrimoniously - with support split mainly along geographic lines, and in the end the WTO had to acknowledge the stalemate and split the tenure between them.
The urbane Supachai's credentials as a free trade advocate equal those of Moore. While Moore would open the six-year Millennium Round, Supachai would have to close it.
Representatives of 134 nations were returning to WTO headquarters Wednesday after a summer break to tackle some tough questions and pave the way for a key ministerial conference in the US city of Seattle in November that will kick off the Millennium Round.
Serious trade disputes and divergences over topics ranging from agriculture, textiles and biotechnology to intellectual property awaited the Geneva staff.
Among other issues, the European Union was expected to seek to put environment and health on the agenda as well as biotechnology controls. Developing nations however were concerned this might lead to obstacles to their textile exports.
While the watchword in the developed world has become globalisation, many developing states, anxious to protect their markets, questioned the advantages of rapid market opening.
Moore meanwhile also faced the task of naming deputy directors-general to assist him, a task made more delicate by the need for geographical balance.
Agriculture was likely to be the toughest subject, with enormous stakes. Subsidies by developed countries to their farming sector reached some 362 billion dollars (344 billion euros) in 1998, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.
One of the big unknowns was the question of China's WTO membership. Some analysts believed Washington and Beijing were seeking a membership accord in time for the Seattle session.
The United States is also in conflict with Japan and other countries over steel exports.Agence France Presse:
