Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre

Introduction on WTO topics at the ICFTU's meeting in Oslo

The ICFTU's (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions') meeting in Oslo on 3 April 2006, hosted by LO, the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions.

(Momenter og stikkord som grunnlag for utenriksministerens innlegg)

In general. Status of the Doha Development Agenda

• A successful conclusion of the Round is important, especially for small countries.
• Countries like Norway need a rules-based, stable and predictable trading system.
• The agreement in Hong Kong was important for the WTO system. Progress was modest, but we agreed on some important issues, and we avoided a breakdown in the negotiations.
• Still, there are difficult tasks ahead if we are to conclude the Round by 2006.
• Agreement was reached in Hong Kong on establishing modalities for agriculture and industrial products by the end of April.
• This will be extremely difficult, but is still possible. There is extensive political involvement in the process, and anything is possible.
• Agriculture is at the core of the DDA. After 50 years of reducing trade barriers for industrial goods, exporters of agricultural products are now demanding the same reductions for agricultural goods.
• For many developing countries, exports of agricultural products are an important or even the only viable source of income. Hence, if the DDA is to become a development round, reform in agricultural trade is essential.
• Norway will lose out in agriculture, and needs increased market access for services and industrial goods, including fish, as well as improved rules, in particular related to anti-dumping measures.
• Key to progress is the relationship and balance between the big four:
• • How far the EU is prepared to go in opening up agricultural markets,
  • how much the US is willing to limit spending on agriculture,
  • and to what extent Brazil and India are willing to open up their markets for industrial products and services.
• Although a political understanding on the level of ambition between these four main players is necessary, other important issues still need to be solved in order to achieve a final package, including issues such as “special products” which is of great importance to many developing countries.
• The DDA is a “single undertaking”; nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Nothing is concluded until 150 countries agree.
• If we are unable to conclude on modalities in April, we will have the final deadline of the end of July. We are close to a “moment of truth” regarding the viability of the Doha Round.

A development agenda

Developing countries are united in their demand for lower subsidies in the developed countries. Subsidies create imbalances in the markets, and developing countries do not have the resources to compete in a market distorted by subsidies.

• Many developing countries demand improved market access for agricultural products in industrialised countries. At the same time they want to protect their own markets.
• However, countries that enjoy preferential treatment for their products are worried that their preference margin will be eroded through the general tariff reduction.
• On the other hand, products covered by preferential schemes are mainly the products of export interest to other developing countries that do not enjoy preferential access to main markets.
• Hence, the issue of preference erosion is a divisive issue between developing countries.
• Similarly, exporters in the developing world are also interested in access to other developing markets, while many developing countries also want to protect their markets from imports from more competitive developing countries.
• In services some developing countries are concerned about opening up their markets, while India is a driving force for liberalisation, in particular related to temporary work permits (mode 4). The main interest of developing countries in the services negotiations is temporary work permits (mode 4). They demand improved access for their service providers in developed countries.

Social and labour standards

• The word is smaller than it has ever been. Globalisation offers opportunities and a wide range of new possibilities for those who can participate in this market place.
• But as the world’s population becomes more and more closely interlinked – as we become closer to one another – increasing attention is being devoted to the social dimension of globalisation.
• Norway supports the conclusion of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, initiated by the ILO Director General: That globalisation should not take place at the expense of workers’ rights. (Needs a push now). We share the objective of strengthening the social dimension of globalisation.
• ILO is the most important global instrument for promoting social standards and workers’ rights. Norway was a member of the ILO Board from 2002-2005.
• Norway has supported the Secretary-General´s campaign to give high priority to the ratification and promotion of the basic ILO conventions. We have also contributed to the acceptance and implementation of ILO conventions in developing countries.
• We have urged ILO to focus its development cooperation activities on areas where the ILO´s monitoring bodies have discovered deficient implementation, in particular the use of forced labour, violation of the right to organise, killings, slavery-like conditions and exploitation of child labour.

• We note that a number of developing countries (although far from all) have particular sensitivites with regard to both content and negotiation procedures in GATS. Our requests have therefore so far been restricted to the ten sectors of particular importance to Norwegian industry and employment, and we have decided not to join the EU, the US and others in putting forward a general, horizontal requests relating to host country restrictions on commercial presence.

Social standards in the WTO

• ILO is not the only instrument available to us in our efforts to promote decent working standards. Both multilateral channels, like the IMF, the World Bank and regional development banks, and bilateral channels are important instruments in this regard.
• Even though the question of linking social standards and trading rules is a highly contentious one, we should not give up.
• Our Government’s declaration reiterates the goal of promoting an “international trading regime where social rights and labour rights are taken into account”.
• The multilateral trading system is based on a set of rules agreed upon by WTO Members. Social standards are not reflected in WTO rules today. All developing and the vast majority of developed country members strongly oppose negotiations to include social standards in WTO rules.
• Their main worry is that social standards will be misused for protectionist purposes. This fear – in particular among developing countries – is so great that any attempt to discuss social standards in the WTO in general terms, outside the negotiations – is violently rejected by a unanimous group of developing countries.
• At the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong last December, I underlined this issue in my formal statement;
  

“Proposals have been put forward to include ILO standards in future WTO negotiations. Norway supports the idea, which is backed by labour unions, of promoting coherence between the work of the WTO and the work of the ILO.”

• Given the opposition to this idea, we know that it will take time to achieve our objective. We need to work together with other like-minded countries, even if they are fiew.
• Our main challenge will be to convince developing countries that we do not have a hidden agenda of protectionism.
• We must also fight to dispel the myth that action on core social standards will have a negative economic impact on countries that raise their standards. Both the ICFTU (FFI) and the OECD have conducted research that indicates: That there is no relationship between the negligence of basic labour standards and an improvement of the national trade balance.
• The era of globalised trade has raised the hopes of workers around the globe.
• But it is also associated in the minds of the general public with an increase in inequalities and precarious conditions.
• We must ensure that economic progress is accompanied by social progress.