MEDIA RELEASE

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND
MINISTER FOR TRADE

TIM FISCHER

25 May 1999

New Study Shows Big Gains From Global Trade Reform

When World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Ministers meet at Seattle in late November this year they should agree to launch a new WTO trade round - which would be good for the world, good for developing countries and good for Australia.

That's the clear conclusion of a new study, Global Trade Reform: Maintaining Momentum, released today in Paris, on the eve of the 1999 OECD Ministerial Council meeting, by Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Tim Fischer.

"I believe Global Trade Reform is an important and timely Australian contribution to international efforts to build support for a new WTO trade round," Mr Fischer said.

"It puts the arguments for further multilateral trade liberalisation forcefully and succinctly drawing on conservative estimates of the benefits of reform. It shows that a fifty per cent reduction in protection globally would deliver an economic boost to the world economy of over US$400 billion ($A600bn) a year.

"The economic benefit to Australia alone would be around US$5 billion ($A7.3bn) a year."

"Australia needs to take every opportunity to put the case for the removal of trade barriers as Australian jobs and living standards depend more than ever today on our industries being able to trade more freely and fairly on world markets," he said.

Global Trade Reform argues that new multilateral trade negotiations - with comprehensive coverage across the agriculture, industrials and services sectors - will be the best means of lowering trade barriers and resisting protectionist pressures.

Global Trade Reform also highlights the fact that developing countries, including crisis-affected economies in Asia, would be major beneficiaries from trade reform.

Mr Fischer said a new WTO round would help governments resist protectionist pressure and keep markets open, thus aiding the recovery of countries experiencing severe economic difficulties. He said the study shows that multilateral trade reform is a win-win process and the gains it would deliver warrant the support of all countries.

Mr Fischer said he would take every opportunity to promote the case for further trade reform in advance of Seattle, including at the informal gathering of WTO Ministers at Budapest on 27-28 May and the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting in June.

Copies of the report are available from DFAT on (02) 62 612012

Paris