Answer FTAs can hinder but that is not necessarily the case. Sometimes they can be complementary and supportive of multialteral objectives in the longer term. But other FTAs that close off opportunites to third parties and distract the attention of governments from multilateral objectives are unhelpful. All said, we need to ensure coherence and that RTAs do not pose as a substitute for a non-discriminatory trading system.
Question In your speech in Washington, last week, you seemed to suggest that the US negotiators in the WTO are more shrewd and capable than others. Are the United States currently pulling the strings in the WTO?
Answer Yes, indeed. US negotiators are shrewd. But I don't remember having said that they were more capable than others. We have many very clever negotiators around the table, and many of them now come from developing countries, as opposed to 10 years ago. The quasi totality of WTO Members can now pull the strings, and the weaker Members have now established coalitions which help them do that. This huge amount of cleverness may be one of the reasons why the negotiations are a bit slow.
Question: I am from Shanghai WTO Consultation Center, China, a Chinese NGO, How do you think that a NGO to play an active role in Today's global economy? I am Jun Feng from Shanghai WTO Consultation Center, China, a Chinese NGO, How do you think that a NGO to play an active role in Today's global economy?
Answer Many ngos play an important and constructive role in the negotiations. But in the WTO it is the governments that have to do the negotiations and make the decisions. Each government has a different way of developing policy and talking to its ngos. One aspect of ngos that is often forgotten is that they cover all interestes, including those for and against trade, those that represent industry and those that represent specific interests. How a government consults with all these interests is their responsibility. Of course, ngos also contact delegations and the WTO Secretariat directly and we are actively looking at ways to improve contacts with them.
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