ICC President pledges business help for next WTO chief
Bangkok, 15 March 2001 - ICC President Richard D. McCormick has assured the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization of the full backing of world business leaders in the drive for greater trade liberalization.
On his first visit as President to one of ICC's 140 member countries, Mr McCormick conferred on trade policy with Thailand's Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, who takes over as head of the WTO in September 2002.
He told reporters Dr Supachai will need all the help he can get to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries on world trade policy.
"I think he has some enormous challenges ahead I'm most anxious for whoever leads the WTO to have as much help as they can because they're going to need it."
ICC could lend moral and technical support, he added. "Our agenda could accommodate the agenda of Dr Supachai, and could be useful in moulding business support around the world," Mr McCormick said.
Mr McCormick said labour and environmental issues must be kept separate from trade policy to prevent powerful countries from using them as a pretext for erecting protectionist barriers.
He added: "Developing countries are fearful that the European Union, the United States and Japan will use these as excuses and as weapons to place themselves at a vantage point in the trading arena."
ICC wants the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in Qatar next November to launch a new round of negotiations on liberalizing trade, the ICC President s
aid. "Trade is increasingly the bigger part of what makes the economy work."
Mr McCormick said Dr. Supachai could help bring about a compromise between developed and developing countries on further liberalization.
"I think he takes a very realistic view of globalization. He understands what's good and he can see the problems I think he is uniquely positioned to bring a developing countries perspective and bring pressureon the developed world to go further and faster than what they've been willing to do in the past."