SWEDEN’S MINISTER TELLS JOURNALISTS OF HIS CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

ABOUT PROSPECTS FOR NEW GLOBAL TRADE TALKS ROUND

There was reason for cautious optimism about the possibilities for launching a new round of global trade talks later this year, because it was increasingly clear that developing countries were working for a new round, Leif Pagrotsky, Swedish Minister for Trade and Globalization, told correspondents at a Headquarters this morning.

Responding to questions at a press conference sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations, Mr. Pagrotsky said that developing countries' desire for new global talks was the main difference between the present and the months before the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in late 1999.

Another difference was the role of the United States, the Minister said.  A new administration was in place and it was still analysing various policy options.  Besides multilateral negotiations, the administration was also contemplating regional and bilateral approaches to trade policy.  While stating its support for the multilateral approach, the United States had not yet made any initiatives or taken any concrete actions to push for a new round of international trade talks.  However, American participation would be extremely important, he stressed.

Asked how he had presented the case to United States Secretary of Commerce, Donald Evans, during their meeting yesterday, Mr. Pagrotsky said he had pointed out that it would not be in keeping with American interests or American tradition to wait on the sidelines as others moved the process forward.

Responding to another question, he said he intended to raise the issue of a new global trade organization with Secretary-General Kofi Annan at a meeting later today, and to discuss new ways in which trade could contribute to development.  He would also meet representatives of the Global Compact Initiative.

He said that the Secretary-General had realized, more than anyone else before him, the importance of open, rules-based trade in promoting an open society.  His dedication to using trade as a potential tool for development could not be underestimated.

Asked about the role of corruption, the Minister said it was an obstacle not only to trade, but also to the development of all countries.  The price was particularly high for the least developed and developing countries.

There was neither a single solution nor a quick fix for corruption, he continued.  A broad concert of actions was needed to tackle corruption.  International cooperation could help to fight money laundering by opening up secret banking accounts in the Caribbean and elsewhere; ensure that bribing foreign officials became a crime everywhere; ensure that multinational corporations adopted internal ethics codes; and help make international trade rules more transparent.

* *** *