Free trade helps poor nations says minister

THE Government has put down a marker for the upcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Singapore, Warning countries in the developed and the developing worlds to honour their commitments to free trade.

Speaking at a seminar called by Trocaire and Oxfam in Dublin, the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Mr Kenny, said free trade should lead to increased living standards and a fairer deal for poorer nations.

Mr Kenny, who will lead the European Union delegation to the Singapore gathering on December 9th, said that the WTO was not a development agency but a rule book with special provisions for developing countries.

He said WTO members should stop adopting stances which contradict their commitments to free trade, "when, for example, we seek trade measures to protect vulnerable jobs without thinking of the consequences Iota developing countries.

Equally, developing countries also have a responsibility to live up to commitments they have made in other fora in relation, for example, to the environment and core labour standards."

He said the proposal for a social clause in the multilateral trading system had provoked heated and divisive debate within the EU. It was opposed by all countries outside the OECD and some within it and stood no chance of being adopted at Singapore.

Although they were not named by Mr Kenny, European Commission insiders have in recent months pointed to Britain and Germany as the two EU countries objecting to any linkage between social conditions and trade.

"Developing countries fear that the objective and result of the proposal is further protectionist measures against their exports. Many developing countries also object to any external examination of their human rights record," he said.

Consensus was likely in Singapore on "core" labour standards, as set out in International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.

It was now generally accepted that the ILO should remain the principal forum for dealing with labour standards and that trade sanctions could not be the main instrument in securing improvements in these labour standards, he said.

No one would be entirely satisfied with the WTO to date but he hoped the Singapore gathering would lead to a renewed commitment to placing trade in the context of increased living standards, sustainable development and the need to secure a fair share in the benefits of global trade liberalisation for poorer countries.