Lamy says Inter-Parliamentary Union must strive for clearing multilateral trade imbalances

24 Jun '06

3 min read

The objective of my opening remarks is twofold: first, is to share my thoughts with you on these reports, and on your relationship with the WTO; and second, is to set out the issues at stake for the Doha Development Agenda in the coming few days.

I understand from your reports that you see your role on international trade as having three different dimensions: first, is a “surveillance” role, in which you monitor the actions of your governments and ensure their accountability. Second, is a role in ratifying international treaties with which your parliaments are presented.

And, third, is a role in developing implementing legislation for international treaties, and seeing them through. This three dimensional role makes you crucial partners of the WTO. Your role is essential to ensuring both the understanding and acceptance of the WTO at the national level; and equally essential to tailoring new international obligations to domestic interests and needs.

However, I have sensed from your reports that there are areas where you feel that improvements can be made. Your studies note that there is a wide divergence in how different parliaments deal with international trade.

While some have established specific committees to look at the subject, and seem to have an in-depth knowledge of the WTO, others feel less equipped to influence trade policy. Furthermore, the powers that are vested in parliaments across different countries seem to vary tremendously.

While some parliaments play a determinative role in the positions that their governments take in international fora, and can call for changes to these positions, others do not enjoy as a broad a role. Some only step in at the end of international negotiations, delivering either a “yes” or a “no” to international accords. While this, of course, is a very powerful role, it nevertheless limits the scope of parliamentary involvement.

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