*{Clinton urges shared vision on future [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Clinton+urges+shared+vision+on+future?open&topic_id=300350000&theme_id=300]

            29.01.2000

            Annual Meeting 2000}

            In the first presentation in person to the Annual Meeting by a US President, William J. Clinton called on nations to encourage greater and more widely sustained economic growth by supporting an open rules-based trading system. He told participants that he did not agree with those who say we should "freeze or disband" the World Trade Organization (WTO), but he also did not agree with those who treat "with contempt the new forces seeking to be heard in the global dialogue". 

            Clinton said there is no substitute for the confidence and credibility that the WTO lends to expanding trade based on rules. Nor is there any substitute for the temporary relief the WTO offers national economies, especially against unfair trade and abrupt surges in imports. There is also no substitute for the WTO's authority for resolving disputes which command the respect of all member nations, he added.

            However, Clinton underlined that if leaders expect the public to support the WTO, "we have to let the public see what we're doing. We have to make more documents available, faster. We have to open dispute panel hearings to the public, we have to let organizations and individuals give the panels their views." He added that countries will all have to abide by the WTO rules and decisions "whether we win or whether we lose."

            The US President challenged political and business leaders to work to make globalization an inclusive process, to decrease inequalities and to provide a forum for dissenters. "The thing that people don't understand about globalization is that it means greater interdependence," he said. 

            Asked by Professor Klaus Schwab what specific message he had for the business community, he said: "The reason I came all the way over here is because collectively you can change the world. You have to decide for yourselves if you agree with me." Clinton said his major wish for the future was that "the global business community adopt a shared vision for the next ten or twenty years" and "then go about trying to create it in ways…that will help other people as well." At the same time, he appealed to leaders: "Don't leave the little guys out." 

            US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told a press conference immediately afterwards that President Clinton had given "his fullest and most complete exposition of what I think is a new paradigm in thinking about international trade and international trade discussions". This new paradigm, he added, included recognizing that negotiations on the trade system have an impact on political issues, including the bolstering of democracy and freedom of information, recognizing that "the ability to import is a source of substantial economic advantage", and that "trade cannot be divorced from other concerns".

            Clinton stressed the need to keep markets open if economies are to expand. "The benefits of trade must flow widely," he said, "to ensure that people are not left behind." Developing countries could achieve growth without making the same mistakes as the west in earlier times - and therefore environmental and labour standards demanded in a new round of trade talks do not represent "rich country protectionism". The digital economy and new technologies make possible rapid growth through advances such as low-emission fuel automobiles. He predicted: "Automobiles will be able to run 400 to 500 miles on a gallon of fuel in a few years." But all these technologies, he said, should be distributed as widely as possible. 

            Clinton called for labour issues to be discussed in a new WTO working group and environmental issues in sessions of a Committee where developing countries have a majority: "It is in the long-term and the short-term interest of developing countries not to abuse their workers and to keep their children in school." But progress can only be made if "we lower the rhetoric and focus more on results". He said that governments should find the courage to rise above short-term political interests and corporations should take responsibility for their actions, "whether they are in an African delta or a New York high rise." 

            Developed countries that want an open trading system supported by the developed world should also invest in indigenous development, for example through micro-credit, education and healthcare, he said. Millions of lives could be saved in Africa by supporting the development of vaccines against diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis. The US Congress is being asked to give pharmaceutical companies tax credits to make vaccines more widely available at low cost. He appealed for a similar effort from the World Bank, other nations and the corporate world to deliver the vaccines to the people who need them to save millions of lives and free up billions of dollars to make developing countries "strong, productive partners - not just for trade but for peace". His appeal met with applause from the audience.

            Clinton also called upon the European Union to be ready to put its agricultural subsidies on the table in new trade negotiations - reaffirming his support for a new round of talks under the WTO. "If even one-third of the world's subsidies and tariffs in agriculture were eliminated, the poorest developing countries that could export would gain more than US$ 4 billion in economic benefits every single year," he suggested.

            In answer to a question, Clinton agreed that the G7 countries were not doing enough on debt relief, but he emphasized the need for a shared vision and constructive partnership. He had pledged the US to forgive 100% of the debts owed by the world's poorest and most indebted nations and will work this year to fund the American share of multilateral debt relief.

            "Leaders of developing nations have their responsibilities as well," he declared, "to narrow the gap between rich and poor, by ensuring that government institutions are open and accountable, honest and effective, so that they can get foreign investment, have widely shared growth, uproot corruption and solve social problems. There is a limit to what wealthy nations can do for people who will not take the necessary steps to make their own societies work."

            The US President also regretted that there were not more places like the World Economic Forum for the broader concerns about globalization to be debated and discussed.

                  *{Contributors:       Clinton William J.
                  Schwab Klaus}