Sir, - This weekend, the 135 members of the World Trade Organisation convene in Seattle to inaugurate a new round of global trade negotiations. These negotiations and the agreements they foster will shape our prospects for broad economic and social progress in the next century.
For 50 years, the United States and the European democracies, including Ireland, have worked together to create a world trading system that opens opportunities for our industries and workers, promotes development in poorer countries and advances the rule of law. As nations have strenuously promoted their own specific interests, they have also been able to advance this broader vision.
Billions of people - nearly two-thirds of the world's population - are now part of the global trading system that began in 1948 with the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT). Through the rules-based system that is above all a creation of Europe and the United States, tariffs have been reduced by 90 per cent. As a result, for each WTO member, exports offer market opportunities to farms and businesses, and higher wages to workers. Worldwide, trade has grown 15-fold since 1960. World production has quadrupled and per capita income more than doubled. Growing agricultural trade has improved nutrition and eliminated famine from all but the most remote or misgoverned corners of the earth. And trade in information technologies - satellites, e-mail and the Internet - has given humanity new worlds of artistic expression, scientific inquiry and political debate.
Because trade gives nations a stake in the prosperity and stability of their neighbours, the trading system has also helped foster a new level of co-operation between nations. The new round, set to open at the WTO's ministerial conference in Seattle, will build on this foundation. In the services industries, more open markets in such fields as environmental services and telecommunications can offer export opportunities and also help us fight pollution and open new methods of communications.
By opening agricultural markets worldwide, it can offer new opportunities to farm families; improve food prices for consumers; and diversify sources of food supplies, strengthening our defences against hunger. And in the manufacturing industries, more open trade can create remarkable opportunities for job creation and rising standards of living.
Nevertheless, there remain misperceptions of, and apprehension toward, the WTO that threaten to undermine its effectiveness, and ultimately the interests of workers and families everywhere. Contrary to the view of some of its critics, the WTO does not and cannot act independently. As an international organisation comprised of sovereign member nations, the WTO works by consensus to establish and enforce a set of rules for global trading partners. As such, the WTO is but an instrument of national policy, realising internationally policies adopted locally. Importantly, the WTO cannot override national standards for labour, environment and safety.
While differences between WTO members on matters of policy and opinion do occur, the WTO has in place a strong, rules-based dispute settlement system to address these disagreements, ensuring the continued credibility and fairness of the system. Despite occasional differences, the WTO has proven to be an important, beneficial institution to all of its members. European consumers, like consumers around the world, gain from increased trade liberalisation, open markets, and lower prices.
As this new round of trade negotiations begins, WTO members have set ambitious goals for further reductions in trade barriers, increased WTO transparency and public accessibility, and broadened membership. In this context, we welcome the fact that the Irish delegation to Seattle includes representatives from non-governmental organisations.
These are ideals that Europe has worked to realise for 50 years. In the new Round, we can continue to build upon them as we move into the next century. It is an opportunity we must not miss. - Yours, etc.,
Michael J. Sullivan, US Ambassador to Ireland, US Embassy, Elgin Road, Dublin 4.