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July 24, 2006
Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry
- We have come to Geneva to negotiate with instructions from Prime Minister Koizumi to conclude the round as soon as possible with a strong
resolve.
- It is a matter of deep regret that the Doha Development Round, as a whole, has been suspended as a result of this meeting. Japan has a high
stake in a stable and predictable trade regime, and as a result, the importance of WTO cannot be over-emphasized. In a sense, WTO is
everything for Japan.
- There is a risk that the suspension of the round would jeopardize the multilateral free trade system and undermine sustainable growth of the
world economy. The business community around the world is strongly expressing a keen interest in an early conclusion of the round.
Moreover, suspension of the round would be a serious hindrance for the sound development of the developing countries as well as in finding a
solution to the issue of poverty in the world.
- When we compare the gains from a successful round with the loss incurred from a failure, it is evidently clear which way we should
proceed.
- Since this round is a development round, we will continue to steadily implement all our measures for the developing countries, including the
gOne Village One Producth activities regardless of the status of the negotiations. WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and OECD Secretary
General Angel Gurría have visited the gOne Village One Producth Market at the Narita airport, and highly commended those activities.
- The process forward is totally unclear, but simply deploring the situation is not something that we, who are politically responsible for
this round, can afford to do. There is no other choice but to continue our effort.
- We leave the WTO in low spirits, but I would like to pledge, along with the member countries who share our ambition for a successful round,
to return to Geneva at the earliest opportunity to resume negotiations.
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