Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Firstly, we join previous speakers in thanking the Director-General and the Secretariat for their efforts in producing this report (WT/TPR/OV/W/6).
The report presents a comprehensive and valuable picture of what we are currently facing in the area of international trade. We welcome the continuing monitoring exercise, which we are convinced is helping to improve transparency in the multilateral trading system.
We are pleased to see there were some positive developments in the period under review (mid-October 2011 to mid-May 2012). It is also encouraging that some Members, ourselves included, have implemented measures to facilitate trade, such as reductions in import tariffs, the termination of trade remedy measures and the streamlining of customs procedures. We also greatly welcome the liberalization of financial services undertaken in particular by Asian countries.
What we do regret, however, is the strong indication that many WTO Members and Observer Governments have been continuing to put in place new measures that could potentially restrict or distort trade. As noted in the report, the number of such newly-applied measures has sharply increased to 182, compared to 155 in the previous period. Our worry is that this trend may further weaken the global economy, which has not fully recovered from the global crisis, and continues to lose momentum.
In addition, it has been observed that some Members have been raising import barriers by taking procedural or administrative action to slow down the clearance of goods at borders. We are concerned not only that such measures will result in extra burdens and cost for exporters and their trading partners, but also that they will have trade-distorting effects on imports.
The report also indicates that some countries have introduced restrictions on government procurement, including the use of local-content requirements. We share the view that such action might ignite protectionist sentiments and deny governments the means of controlling spending through cheaper foreign bidding. It would be highly desirable for Members to refrain from imposing such restrictions.
The WTO membership has always advocated an open multilateral trading system. A major return to protectionism would not only deal a devastating blow to the system itself, but would also destroy the long-established credibility of the WTO as the organization with the leading role in world trade. We must proceed with caution, resist protectionist pressures and work collectively on opening markets rather than closing them.
Mr. Chairman, we would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation of your hard work in facilitating improvements in the trade monitoring exercise. The two open-ended meetings held earlier this month were very useful. Some suggestions have been made regarding the preparation of future reports. We look forward to working with you, as well as the Director-General, the Secretariat and all other Members, on continuing to improve the trade monitoring process.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
