Seattle conference: IMF, World Bank, WTO leaders stress importance of increased trade for reducing poverty

• Pages: 389-390

Page 389

During the past two years, which have been difficult for many of our member countries, the multilateral trading system has been an anchor of strength and stability in the world economy. Its rules are an essential element of the framework for international economic policy cooperation. The damaging economic and social effects of financial crisis have been felt widely, yet the consequences would have been far worse if the crisis had provoked a protectionist trade response. A broad-based recovery in world economic activity and a return to macroeconomic stability are now under way. In these circumstances, it is important that restrictive trade measures continue to be resisted firmly and that further steps are taken to open markets and enhance competi-Page 390 tion to strengthen the contribution of trade to poverty alleviation and development.

Poverty afflicts an intolerably large proportion of the world's population. The evolution toward a more open, integrated, and competitive global economy offers great potential for fostering growth and the economic and social development needed to eradicate poverty. But the human and social benefits of economic globalization do not accrue automatically, and globalization presents particular challenges for the poorest countries. Supporting their efforts to integrate more fully into the world economy is an urgent task for the international community, and one to which our three organizations are strongly committed.

New WTO negotiations offer an excellent opportunity for governments collectively to renew their commitment to a comprehensive liberalization of international trade. We call on WTO members to be ambitious and farsighted in setting their negotiating objectives. The negotiations have the potential to yield results that improve the functioning of the world economy and create greater opportunities for developing countries. In particular, there are large potential gains to be had from further multilateral liberalization of trade in those goods and services that are of particular export interest to developing countries.

As national economies become more interdependent, fostering poverty reduction through sustained, broadly shared, high-quality growth depends to an important extent on intergovernmental cooperation to ensure that trade, finance, macroeconomic, and development policies are mutually supporting. The IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO have special responsibilities to assist our member...