加拿大国际贸易部长裴迪格鲁演讲(4)
Meetings like this are an excellent opportunity for government officials and business leaders from different countries to exchange views on the critical issues of the day.
Progress on development that raises living standards， literacy and political freedom is dependent on the revenues that participation in the global economy can generate. Without commitment to securing that firm economic foundation， talk of social justice risks becoming nothing more than an intellectual exercise.
The Need for Transparency
Another way in which Governments can strengthen the support for and understanding of the links between growth and development， is to increase the transparency of these multilateral institutions.
As many of you know， Canada is a leading proponent of including language in the Ministerial Declaration on transparency and increased openness， both among WTO Members and between the WTO itself and the public.
Recently we proposed that WTO Members direct the WTO Secretariat to make public the draft Declaration and subsequent drafts of it. Such openness has proved beneficial for us in the context of the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Canada - and I personally - had pressed our 33 FTAA partners on the issue of transparency for quite some time and I am very pleased to say that our efforts were successful.
In my experience， we have nothing to fear from public scrutiny. On the contrary， the decision earlier this year to release our draft FTAA negotiating texts has served to de-mystify these trade discussions and remove a major criticism - i.e.， secrecy —— that NGOs have scored with in the past. It also removed the ability of anti-trade critics to fear-monger about what might be in the texts.
Transparency makes our job easier， not harder. And transparency helps strengthen public support for trade liberalization， not weaken it.
Canada's Objectives for the Round
But what does Canada want from the new round？
First， like almost all other members of the WTO - whether developed or developing economies - Canada seeks meaningful reform in trade in agricultural products. Agriculture must be brought more fully into the multilateral trading rules and trade-distorting subsidies must be reduced - dramatically reduced， in Canada's view - markets must be further opened. This would benefit all Members - developing countries would have access to new markets in a sector in which they can be competitive， and developed countries would reduce public expenditures and benefit consumers through increased choice and lower prices.
